One Poop Storm, I'm the Diaper
by Alianorah
Summary: Ev is the new girl, a little different; friends with his friends, Sirius and Ev hate each other at first. He then finds out her secret. What is the aftermath? Is there romance? Goes to Harry at about 16.
1. The Middle Finger and the Meeting

The Middle Finger and the Meeting that Ensues  
  
EEË???verard (X) Adharah Rhyahnnon stared straight ahead, the man's voice ringing in her ears.  
  
"This tea- if you can call it that- is cold. This is the second time I've complained about it. How idiots like you get jobs is beyond me?. . "  
  
She closed her eyes hoping to open them to something better. She grabbed the tea from the man, ugly as a dog in her opinion, and walked to the microwave. She put it in for a minute. When she brought it back to man he took a sip and then spit it out, all over Everard. "It's too hot now! Can't you do anything right? Moron!"  
  
"Pardon me?!" she asked not at all politely. "Can't you be satisfied with anything? I've done this like three times! Do it yourself."  
  
Just then the owner of the coffee shop, Fairy as Everard liked to call him, came over and said, "What's going on here?" his face all smiley and polite.  
  
You are such a puppet, Everard thought. "This 'gentleman' is criticizing my service," she explained.  
  
"She is being rude and impolite and I've seen her roll her eyes at me several times," the man said angrily.  
  
Everard rolled her eyes then said, sounding sarcastically relieved, "So you didn't see me spit in your tea. Thank Gawd!" She said this with a fake Southern accent, shaking her head.  
  
"How many times have I told you that kidding like that is not funny? If you keep acting like this I'm going to have to fire you, Ev." Fairy said loudly. Now everyone was looking at them.  
  
Ev's eyes flashed heatedly. In a huff she jerked off her apron and threw it on the floor. "You know what? Screw you and this job. I quit. Which I know is stupid because I need this job to pay for tuition, but I don't care. This is the most demeaning job ever! I get lousy tips even if I do well. So buh-bye. But before I go one last thing" Here she raised her middle finger and slowly revolved on the spot, showing everybody. Some people gasped and one lady covered her child's eyes. "Like you've never given the finger before. Please!" Ev said to her. Smiling slightly she walked out, slamming the door behind her. " I'll get a job at a bar or something . . . hardly minimum wage . . . fucking working my whole summer . . .two jobs," she muttered to herself.  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *  
  
"What'll you boys have?" Ev asked, leaning on the table at the American restaurant she now worked at. This place was much better than the coffee house. The manager allowed the girls to wear whatever they wanted as long as it was black and white and not too slutty. Today she was wearing a knee- length black and white camouflage skirt and a white tank top. Paul, the manager had had a problem with this at first because it showed two of her tattoos- the one on the back of her left shoulder (a green fire-breathing dragon) and the one on the top of her right arm (a black Chinese symbol). In the end he let her wear it when she told him she didn't give a shit if he had a problem with it. Paul was slightly intimidated by her.  
  
The two guys she was speaking to looked up from the menus they were looking at. One guy, with black unruly hair, said, "What's a cheeseburger? Are they good?" He said this with a very English accent. Steeling herself from smacking him repeatedly, Ev put a cute smile on her face and said, "Yes, very. I say you should try one." He nodded and she wrote it down along with the Coke he had ordered with it. "It comes with fries, which are also good," she added. She looked expectantly at the other guy, who also had black hair but slightly longer.  
  
"Ummmmmmm . . . I'm not sure." He too was English. He was looking at the menu, as was his friend. Ev jerked her head in the air, asking God to grant her the strength to make it through the day with these idiots. "Are hot dogs good?" he asked. She nodded impatiently at him. "I'll have one of those with some fries and a . . . Coke." Ev wrote it down quickly and smiled at them.  
  
Taking the menus from them she said, "Great!" Just as she was about to walk away the longhaired guy grabbed her arm. She snapped her head back and looked at him sharply. He slowly removed his hand.  
  
"They're not real dogs are they?" He sounded sincerely concerned, and sincerely stupid Ev thought.  
  
"No," Ev answered in a breathy voice. "Actually, they're cats. The inventor had a weird sense of humor."  
  
"Oh," he said, truly believing her. Ev's mouth dropped. A bark of laughter escaped her lips.  
  
"That was sarcasm," she said looking him in the eye. Now, he actually looked angry with her.  
  
"You're not a very good waitress," he shot at her.  
  
Ev started walking away, but then she turned around and said, "Never told you I was."  
  
She continued toward the kitchen. *§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö§ö*  
  
Sirius looked at James. "These American women are bitches." They were at a restaurant that was owned and worked for by Americans. It had only American food. "Are waitresses supposed to be that rude? She wants a tip I'll give her a tip. Don't be a bitch, that's my tip. Did you see her tattoos? What is she, a biker? I mean . . ."  
  
"Are you aware you're still talking?" Sirius looked at James.  
  
"You don't agree with me? That she shouldn't have acted like that." Sirius said this in disbelief.  
  
"Sure, I agree with you." Why did he keep talking about her, James thought. She's just a rude waitress.  
  
"I'm thinking about talking to her boss."  
  
Shocked, James looked at him. "Why? She probably needs this job."  
  
"She should have thought of that beforehand."  
  
Speaking of the bitch, her she comes, James said to himself.  
  
"Here you go." She placed their food in front of them then gave them their drinks. She was wearing a camouflage skirt and a tank top. One tattoo was on her shoulder, a dragon, and the other on her bicep, and Chinese symbol. She had her dark brown shoulder-length hair in a ponytail. (Wonder who). If you had asked James he would have said she might have been obnoxious but HOT DAMN she was hot. He quickly let go of the thought, an image of beautiful Lily Evans, his redheaded girlfriend, floating into his mind. He had recently told Remus (Sirius would have laughed) that he was sure he was in love with her.  
  
As she gave them their food and then walked to another table to get ketchup, a song by Yankee Grey (All Things Considered)-not that neither James nor Sirius knew- came on. "All things considered I'm doing just fine even though...," she sang softly to herself as she leaned over Sirius to place the bottle next to the wall. She had a nice voice Sirius thought, though he'd never admit it. "Thanks," James said as she leaned back, smiling at her. She smiled at him in answer.  
  
She turned to Sirius, "Sorry about . . . before. Long day you know? Someone came in earlier and asked for a hotburger. 45 minutes it took to explain that." She sighed. Then shook her head, her eyebrows raised, as if to rid herself of the memory. "So, sorry."  
  
"Sure, me too." Sirius responded. Ev walked away. "Trying to get a better tip . . ." Sirius muttered. James rolled his eyes. I need other friends.  
  
?=?=?=?=?=?=?=?=?=?=?=?=?=?=?=?=?=?=?=?=?=?=?=?=?=?=?=?=?=?=?=?=?  
  
At the end of the day, Ev was collecting the tips from a few of the tables. She walked warily to the table that James and Sirius had occupied. Closing her eyes, she felt around for the money and, finding it, opened it to see . . . $1.13.  
  
"Son of a bitch," she muttered. Pocketing it, she cleaned up for the next 15 minutes and left at quarter to 12. She walked the four blocks home. Once inside she didn't even change clothes; she just fell face first onto the bed. "Uhhhhhh." 


	2. Surprise! Surprise! And Lots of Water

Surprise! Surprise! And Lots of Water  
  
*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()* ()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*  
  
Ev woke sooner than she would have liked, nine o'clock. She sat up slowly in her bed, realizing as she did so that she was wearing her work clothes. A bright smile lit up her face. It was her day off!  
  
Practically skipping out of bed, she hopped into the bathroom for a quick shower. Once out she changed into a pair of naturally faded pants (hate the already faded kind) and a blue tank top with monkeys on it. (Go here to see it  
  
1&catalogId=10001&categoryId=10097&parentCategoryId=10002&productId=31048&la ngId=-1&promo=&origin=CJX# )  
  
Realizing that she had none of her school supplies, she went into her roommate's room. Seeing the telltale sign that she was there, a pile of blonde hair on the pillow, Ev went up and grabbed the comforter, pulling it off of Dervila (her real name was Deirbhile; don't ask how you come up with Dervila, even she didn't know; all she knew was it was Irish). Dervila was a 23-year-old witch, seven years older than Ev. She didn't work as a witch though; she worked at a college as a professor of medieval literature. Over the summer she slept late, tired after staying up so late reading Chaucer or whoever.  
  
Vila, as she liked to be called, groaned and reached out for the comforter, not even opening her eyes.  
  
"Come on Vila, you have to show me where to get my supplies for Hogwarts."  
  
"No. Sleep, good. Moving, BAD." She gave a gentle snore.  
  
"Brian's here!" Ev said, mentioning Vila's boyfriend.  
  
"But I'm not even cute yet!" Vila jumped up, clearly awake. She looked at Ev, who wasn't even trying to hold in her laugh. "Witch," she muttered, going over to her closet and grabbing a pair of white shorts and a black long sleeved t-shirt. "Yeah?" Ev retorted. Vila rolled her eyes.  
  
Ev left so she could change, and only had to wait for a couple minutes. Vila walked out, like Ev not even bothering or caring to put on make-up; whom were they trying to impress?  
  
Not that long later, Ev and Vila stood in the streets of Diagon Alley. "Holy Mother of Jesus," Ev muttered. Vila smiled.  
  
They started strolling along the streets looking through the windows at all the supplies. "This is a lot different than the shops on Eagle Alley in America," Ev said to her. "In America everything looks clean and knew. Not so here." She paused for a minute. "I like this place better!"  
  
She looked at the list in her hand and they spent the next hour and a half buying her school things. Finally they were pretty sure they had everything. Seeing Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, they sat down and ordered ice cream. As she leaned down for her first lick, Ev saw a familiar figure pass by, two to be exact. Turning her head she saw two heads of black hair, one longer than the other, and a longhaired redhead between them. They met up with a blondish-brown haired guy and then started walking back the way they came.  
  
"Shit," Ev muttered. Leaning down in the chair as far as she could until her stomach was parallel with her knees, she put her hand next to her face and looked to her left as the group passed on her right. After they were safely 20 feet away she heaved a sigh of relief.  
  
"Did I miss something'?" she asked, looking perplexed. "I waited on them yesterday at the restaurant," she answered, not sounding happy, "The one with the long hair's an ass." "Stop swearing," Dervila reprimanded. She was very religious and was adamant that she would not allow Ev to swear around her.  
  
"Sorry." %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% A week later, the night before school was to start, Everard was packing her trunk, randomly throwing clothes and books and supplies in. Humming to herself slightly, she thought about the upcoming school year. No one knew her, knew about her. No one knew her secret. No one knew what she was hiding from everyone in the world. She paused, looking straight ahead and out her window, the sun in her eyes. "I can be anyone," she reflected to herself.  
  
She could be a popular person; be nice and kind and friendly. She could go to dances and get good grades. She could be punk; dress in all black, wear ties, not care what anyone thought. Or she could be a bitch; she could be rude and sarcastic and shy away from making friends, be a loner, a lone wolf, a recluse, a hermit. She laughed to herself, thinking that she was more like the two latter. Not giving a fuck what anyone thought sarcasm was her specialty. Some might call it cynicism. As she threw the last book in her trunk, she grinned.  
  
~~*()*~~*()*~~*()*~~*()*~~*()*~~*()*~~*()*~~*()*~~*()*~~*()*~~*()*~~*()*~~*( )*~~*()*~~*()*~~*()*~~*()*~~*()*~~ Vila and Ev ran toward the train station, Ev dragging her trunk with her. "Hurry," Vila screeched. Vila, knowing the way, ran toward Platform 9 and 10. She quickly ran through and Ev, not hesitating, followed, not having time to think on the oddness.  
  
Once through, they both paused for breath. Ev laughed, "We're always late for everything." They both laughed, thinking about all the times they went to the movies, only to be slightly late, even if they had planned on going for hours.  
  
They started laughing harder, Vila leaning on the trunk for support. She accidentally snorted and they set off in a fresh set of giggles. Then they heard the screeching of the train as it started chugging down the track.  
  
"Shit," Ev yelled, grabbing her trunk and running toward the train, which was picking up speed.  
  
"Don't swear!"  
  
Having made it to the door, Ev reached forward and snatched it open. Using up her strength, she grabbed her trunk and threw it in. Before she was able to get in herself, the wind whipped the door shut. It was then she felt the drop of rain on her face. The door flew ahead of her and the only thing she saw was windows. Not thinking, she just grabbed onto the groove under the window and put her feet on the railing at the bottom. Looking down she thought, maybe this wasn't a good idea. Looking into the window, she groaned but promptly forgot that as the train flew into a tunnel.  
  
The walls were mighty close, she could tell by the wall skimming her back. Oh God, Oh God, Oh God, Oh God. She felt the wall coming in on her and imagined herself stuck under the rubble. Wide open spaces. Wide open spaces, a meadow, a valley, large . . . cages, coffins, collapsing buildings. Just then they left the tunnel and Ev felt the wind in her hair and took a deep breath of cold air. But then she felt the wet, and was promptly soaked with rain.  
  
Letting go with one hand she knocked on the dripping window, the wind blowing her dark brown hair in her face. The people inside all looked at her with stunned looks on their faces.  
  
"Open the fucking DOOR," she cried, her eyes glinting. Surprise, Surprise! The long, black-haired guy she'd waited on came up and quickly slid up the window, obviously not recognizing her in her unruly state. Then he jumped back, and with a heave on the bottom of the window, Ev dropped onto the floor with a very loud thud on her back.  
  
"Pwuh. uhhhgh," she lay there gasping for breath, the wind knocked out of her. She opened her eyes to seven pairs of eyes looking at her. "Dayummmmm. That hurt like a mother." She flopped over and gasped for breath on her hands and knees, water dripping onto the floor. Grasping the edge of the seats, she pulled herself up. She sat down on one of the seats, the seven people still staring at her.  
  
"Take a picture," she muttered, pulling her tangled, matted wet hair out of her face. Sirius and James gasped loudly. She smiled ruefully.  
  
"What the hell are you doing here?" Sirius said with disbelief in his voice. She smirked.  
  
"Do you believe I was chasing you?" She retorted. "I'm a witch." "We all know that, but what are you doing here?" Ev glared at him. "You're really a witch? Wow, hell just froze over."  
  
"That's too bad, I enjoy heat. Man, I'm gonna have to start being good, aren't I?" Ev said, her voice oozing sarcasm and mock relief.  
  
"Wait a moment, back up! You guys know each other?" a redhead said, gesturing at Ev and Sirius.  
  
"She waited on us at a restaurant once, Lily," James answered for Sirius.  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Well," said a brown-haired guy pleasantly, "it's nice to meet you. My name's Remus Lupin." "Everard Rhyahnnon," Ev said, shaking his hand. Pretty muscled, Remus thought, watching her muscles flex in her upper arm.  
  
"Lily Evans," the redhead said. "Peter Pettigrew," a chubby guy said. "Arabella Figg," a pretty, brown-haired girl told her. "Rae Podmore," a short blonde said. Ev shook all their hands. Sirius and James just looked on, Sirius with a shocked look on his face.  
  
"Wha. you.huh?" he spluttered.  
  
Shrugging his shoulders, James gripped Ev's hand and shook it, saying, "James Potter." She smirked slightly at him.  
  
"You're not a witch," Sirius burst out. "You're a.a"  
  
"A what?"  
  
"A biker!" She burst out laughing, leaning on the doorframe for support.  
  
"A biker?" she said in between laughs. She sat down again on one of the seats, but then laugh ripped out of her again. "Wow, I can't breathe, but it was totally worth it," she said, wiping her eyes.  
  
"Do you guys not like each other?" Rae asked.  
  
"HE doesn't like me." Ev answered, glancing at Sirius. "What do you mean 'a biker'?"  
  
"Look at you!" He waved his arms at her. She looked down at herself.  
  
She was wearing jeans, not tight (I hate tight and not hip huggers, hate them too). They were naturally faded. She had a green camouflage shirt on that showed a couple inches of stomach, and a black leather jacket over that. On her hand was a turtle ring and she had an earring on her right eyebrow, which was arched right now. Around her neck on a silver chain hung a single ring. On another silver chain hung many pendants and charms and some rings in a jangled mess, which came up higher than the other necklace. Her dark brown hair was straight and went 8 inches past her shoulders. None of her tattoos were showing. She shrugged, not getting his point.  
  
"What?"  
  
"The camouflage, the leather jacket, and what kind of person wears a ring on a necklace?" Sirius said, cocking his head at her as if he had proved her guilty of murder.  
  
"I don't like to wear it on my hand. It's like a promise; I don't make promises, and I don't promise to keep them," Ev answered to his question about the necklace. They all stared at her dumbly, like she was the crazy one. She clenched her jaw stubbornly at them for a second. "It's called a Celtic Claddagh. You know 'the hands are there for friendship; the heart is there for love. For loyalty throughout the year, the crown is raised above.'" She finished reciting this and looked at them. No understanding whatsoever, she thought.  
  
She sighed exasperatedly and reached up and slid the dripping necklace off from around her very wet neck. She handed it to Remus. "The hands for friendship," she pointed to the hands, "the heart for love," she gestured at the heart the hands were holding, "and the crown for loyalty." She finished jabbing her finger at the crown the heart wore. "It's a Celtic token of affection."  
  
All the girls 'wowed' appreciatively, not seeing, as the guys did, Ev roll her eyes in disgust. James pressed his lips together, trying not together, thinking of Lily and how wonderful she was and the fact she wouldn't like him inadvertently making fun of her.  
  
She jerked the object abruptly out of their hands and replaced it around her neck. "I have to go get my trunk, I. threw it in earlier."  
  
"Don't you want to get a towel or something and dry off?" asked Remus, gazing at her still dripping form.  
  
"No," she answered, raising an eyebrow at him and shaking her wet stringy hair, "I like the rain." She then walked out of the compartment to get her trunk.  
  
Ev walked down to the door through which she had not entered. Her trunk wasn't there. Son of a bi. she thought.  
  
She walked into the first apartment she saw, and found herself looking in on a silver-haired boy and some large guys surrounding him along with 2 what-could-only-be-called-slutty girls.  
  
"Yo, blonde," Ev said loudly, "you seen a trunk out here?"  
  
At first the guy looked at her in surprise, but then his eyes roamed over her, staying too long just below her neck. Ev cleared her throat and looked at him pointedly. He jerked his head up and stood up, putting a suave smile on his face. He walked toward her. Ev turned around rolling her eyes.  
  
"Well, well, well," he said, "and who are you? New?" Ev nodded. "I haven't seen a trunk but I will help you find it." He had a pompous look on his face.  
  
"Thank you," she answered all the same.  
  
"Maybe it's in here," he said, smirking, and leading her into a compartment that happened to be empty.  
  
Ev skimmed the room. "Nope, not here."  
  
"Wait a moment, don't go yet," the guy said, putting his arm in the doorway. "I don't even know your name. I'm Lucius Malfoy, winner of 10 owls."  
  
"Right," Ev retorted dryly. "I'm Ev Rhyahnnon. I once drew a picture a picture of a butterfly that got me twelve gold stars."  
  
Lucius ignored the comment and slowly walked toward her. "You sexy, did you know that?"  
  
Her back was now to the window and he placed his hands on either side of her. "What do you wanna do?" He said this with an almost husky voice.  
  
"I don't know. What do you wanna do?" Ev whispered innocently. A silly grin slowly came on his face. He placed his hand on her flat stomach and slid it down her thigh and then slowly back up. As soon as his hand touched a place no girl would like, Ev slowly drew in a deep breath. He smiled, obviously thinking she liked it.  
  
Out of the corner of her eye, Ev saw the door open and Sirius' head peek in. His eyes widened and he made to come toward them, but Ev gave a slight shake of her head.  
  
"Why are you so wet? I like it." Lucius slid his left hand and squeezed Ev's butt. "But we really should get you out of those clothes before you get too cold."  
  
He wasn't expecting it, and Ev could tell by the glint in his eyes and the 'oof' that escaped from his lips when it happened. She had brought up her right knee with a powerful thrust right into her target, 'the place where the sun don't shine'. He slowly slid down onto his hands and knees, wheezing.  
  
Sirius' eyes widened and his mouth fell open.  
  
Ev cracked her knuckles while snapping her head down to the left and right, where she felt and heard a satisfying crack. "I'm definitely gonna get outta these clothes, but you, nor any horny guy, ain't gonna be there while it happens. Comprende?"  
  
She brought up her foot and a loud thud was heard as it connected with Draco's stomach. He rolled onto his back, clutching at his stomach and a little lower, gasping. "If you ever touch me again, even on accident, I will cut off your balls and force them down your throat. Have you got that?!" Her voice rose to a loud yell with the last sentence."  
  
Not waiting for an answer, since he couldn't give one, she stepped over him and past a still shocked Sirius and into the hall. She walked to the first compartment she'd been in and slammed the door angrily. The door opened a split second later and Sirius walked in, a dazed look on his face.  
  
"What happened?" asked Lily, looking at Ev's face.  
  
"Asshole," Ev burst out.  
  
"What happened?" Remus asked, a puzzled look on his face.  
  
"Son of a BITCH!"  
  
"What happened?" Rae asked her head cocked slightly.  
  
"He's such a dip wad, asswipe."  
  
"What happened!" Everyone, except Sirius, screamed at once.  
  
Ev looked up, obviously surprised to see them.  
  
"Okay, geez. Have a little patience." Ev said, irritated. "That Malfoy PRICK," -here she yelled toward the door, "groped me."  
  
"Oh my God, what'd you do?"  
  
"I kicked his ass!" She said this like it was the most apparent thing to do.  
  
"You kicked Malfoy's ass?" James chimed in.  
  
"It was amazing!" Sirius yelled. He looked at Ev with respect in his eyes. "You are my god."  
  
Her eyes widened in shock. "She kneed him right in the groin and then kicked him right in the gut." Sirius continued, "Malfoy dropped like a stone."  
  
It was now Remus' turn to say something. "You shouldn't resort to violence."  
  
Ev snorted, "Right, I should've just calmly asked him to stop and he would've." She stared at Remus and said thoughtfully to herself, "God must love stupid people; He made so many." Remus just looked at her calmly.  
  
"So, where the hell is my trunk!"  
  
Review! I haven't gotten any yet. The next chapter will be up in a couple days! 


	3. Holy Hell, This Is A School?

Holy Hell, This Is A School?  
  
Ev finally found her trunk. Everyone sat in the compartment in silence. Ev raised her eyebrow in amusement, watching James staring at Lily who was whispering with Rae and Ara. Crush, she thought. She snorted slightly. So obvious.  
  
"We should probably change into our uniforms. We're almost there." Ara spoke abruptly.  
  
"Sure, go ahead," Sirius said in a would-be-suave voice. It didn't quite work with his accent.  
  
She sighed and started playing with her fingers, with their black nail polish.  
  
The girls stood up, grabbing their uniforms, intending to find an empty compartment to change in. "Coming?" Lily looked at Ev.  
  
"Sure," she answered slowly. She opened her trunk and grabbed her uniform, which she'd never taken a good look at.  
  
"Oh, hell no!" Everyone looked at her in shock after her outburst. "This is the uniform?" hideous.  
  
"Yeahhhhhh." They all chorused like she was crazy.  
  
"It's ugly, horrendous, atrocious, awful, dreadful, dire, appalling!" She took a deep breath. "You actually wear this every day." They all nodded. "I'm not wearing it," this she said with finality, laying the uniform in a heap at the bottom of her trunk.  
  
"You have to wear it."  
  
"Why? Is it written down somewhere? Chiseled in stone. Signed in blood." Ev looked at Remus. Him being the prefect, he would know.  
  
He shrugged a shoulder. "I don't think it's really a rule, just a sort of. I mean everyone always. no one's ever worn. It's just not done!" he burst out.  
  
"Well it is now. No way in hell I'm wearing that stupid thing. A skirt, a tie and a sweater and long socks? How revolting." Ev retorted. She plopped ungracefully down on the seat.  
  
"Okaayyyyy," Rae said uncomfortably, "let's go change. She, Lily, and Ara strode out of the compartment to find an empty one.  
  
In unison, the boys whipped their heads toward Ev to see her rummaging in her trunk for an outfit that was dry. Is she gonna leave so we can change, they all were thinking.  
  
Finally finding an outfit, Ev looked up. "You still in here?"  
  
"We have to change." Sirius said.  
  
"Find an empty compartment." Ev responded.  
  
"If you left, it would be an empty compartment."  
  
"I was gonna change in here."  
  
"So were we!" Sirius shouted.  
  
"Go ahead." Ev replied coolly, crossing her arms over her chest.  
  
"No, you go ahead."  
  
"Fine."  
  
Ev stood quickly up, sliding her leather jacket off her bare shoulders.  
  
The guys all stared at her. There was no denying the fact that Ev was hot. Sizzling. Scorching. Searing. You get the point.  
  
The camouflage tank top was rather tight and showed off her perfect breasts. That's how the guys saw it. Her bottom was very fitting to her slim waist and showed off tan stomach, neck, and arms. Well, all of her was tan.  
  
They'd soon forget all this though, after Ev did what she did next.  
  
Grabbing the bottom of her shirt, she slid it off her body. The guys eyes widened even more. She had on a black, wet bra. She was still rather dripping wet. God, she was hot.  
  
Ev placed her hands on her wet hips. "Petey, pick your mouth up off the floor, kay." Peter turned slightly red and all the guys immediately snapped out of their trances. "And Jamesie, don't think Lily will like you staring at me." James flushed red also.  
  
Anyone just coming in would have questioned why a half naked girl was standing there with four turned on guys sitting in the seats before her.  
  
Ev smirked slightly. "Rem, would you mind handing me that shirt." He just stared. "Okay, don't bother. I got it."  
  
Ev leaned over Remus' legs, her arm reaching for the blue tank top. Remus and the guys couldn't help but stare at her wet black bra, or, rather, what was beneath it. She stood straight up and reached up to put on the shirt, in the process showing off her beautiful, flat, muscled stomach. This girl was in shape!  
  
The guys sighed to themselves as she slid the dry shirt onto her still-a- little-wet body. No one had a camera. Dammit! But then she unbuttoned her pants and slid them off her tan, long legs.  
  
Damnnn!  
  
She once again leaned over Remus to get her pants, while Remus and the others all "inconspicuously" looked at her butt, which was unfortunately covered by black underwear.  
  
Ev pulled the pants on.  
  
She then did a shocking thing. She reached into her shirt and unsnapped the back of her, that's right, her bra. She then slid it out her left sleeve. She walked over to Remus, grabbed her bra and preceded to put it on under her shirt.  
  
She plopped down next to Sirius. "Hi," she said sweetly.  
  
Sirius gulped but made himself stop staring at her. She may be hot, but I still hate her.  
  
As if on second thought, Ev stood up and searched in her trunk for something, allowing the guys to see the unruly state of her trunk, inside and out. With a look of triumph, she closed the trunk and sat down, a large, leather-bound book in her hands.  
  
She opened the book, obviously knowing where she had left off.  
  
"What's that?" Peter asked timidly.  
  
"The Tragedy of Macbeth," she replied. "Shakespeare," she added at their looks.  
  
"I know who he is," James said angrily at her look. He was quiet for a moment. "Why would you read that crap? Did you know he's gay?"  
  
"A. It's not crap and 2. He was gay, he's dead now." Ev continued reading, and Sirius grinned at her answered. James turned slightly red. "What's it about?" Peter asked hesitantly.  
  
"It'd take me forever to explain," she answered, not taking her eyes from the book.  
  
"Are you a bookworm," Sirius asked slyly.  
  
"No. I just love this quote." Ev turned the pages of her book, knowing where it was. "Aha!," she exclaimed upon finding it. "This one." Her eyes skimmed the writing.  
  
"What does it say?" Remus asked curiously.  
  
"' Out, out, brief candle!  
  
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player  
  
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage  
  
And then is heard no more: it is a tale  
  
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,  
  
Signifying nothing.'" Ev read the text. "I love that," she said a moment later, quietly.  
  
"What!" Sirius and James said incredulously. Ev rolled her eyes and continued reading.  
  
It was now that the girls walked in, talking and laughing.  
  
Ev read while the others talked.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"We're there."  
  
The train screeched to a halt.  
  
Ev, leaning forward, looked out the window at the large castle looming over the lake. "Holy hell, this is a school?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"It looks like a castle."  
  
"It is a castle."  
  
"Then that's precisely why it looks like one." Ev stood up, grabbing the handle of her trunk and walked out of the compartment.  
  
The others just sighed and followed her. 


	4. Midnight Nightmares, and Some Sweat

Midnight Nightmares, and Some Sweat  
  
Ev sat there, mouth shut tightly, hoping not to hurl.  
  
The sound of water dripping off the oars. Ah yes. Lovely.  
  
She ground her teeth together. In front of her were two very scared looking boys, one blond and chubby, the other brown haired and timid. Both of them kept skirting glances at her and tried to make themselves smaller.  
  
Ev smiled at them, causing them to gulp, but then she stopped because she felt as though she was going to up chuck, puke, throw up, hurl, blow chunks, heave, or whatever.  
  
One of the boys leaned over, making the boat rock nauseatingly. He stuck his fingers in the water then brought them up, looking at them. Quickly, he sat up straight, once again moving the boat.  
  
"That's right, rock the boat, honey, just rock it." Ev snapped. She closed her eyes, holding her stomach.  
  
She heard one of them whisper "wimp".  
  
"What did you say?" she cracked like a whip. He turned slowly up and she narrowed her eyes at him. His eyes widened and he turned back around.  
  
We're almost there.  
  
Surprisingly, Ev was deathly nauseous on boats. Not because she was scared of the water or something. She could swim. Don't make her show you. But boats, especially tiny ones, made her more than slightly skittish. Everard was, how do you say, edgy around tight spaces. Claustrophobic is the right term for it. It just made her feel like she was in a tight coffin, and she sometimes forgot to breathe. Not big deal.  
  
Breathe. Breathe. Whoo, okay, you're good. You're fine. Hunky dory. It's all good.  
  
She felt the boat touch ground and like a flash she was out of that thing.  
  
Ah, the ground beneath my feet. I could kiss you.  
  
"Com' on 'ight 'ere, kids," a gruff voice said. The students all lined up, following the large man into the castle.  
  
¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥  
  
The group of students marched into the Great Hall, under the scrutiny of all four houses and the teachers. They all huddled near the front of the hall, next to a three-legged stool.  
  
Ev looked down at the people around her.  
  
She stood out like the sorest thumb in the universe. Most of these kids were hardly over five feet, but Ev was quite tall. Exactly 6 foot, to be exact. Sirius was only an inch taller than her; Remus was 3 inches shorter, and James 2 inches shorter, if you're wondering. Rae, Lily, and Ara were all at least half a foot shorter than her. Ara was the tallest of them at 5' 6.  
  
Meanwhile, McGonagall, after the sorting ceremony speech, had just started calling out names.  
  
"Archibald Alderton, the," McGonagall squinted, "the 84th?" She looked up at him doubtfully.  
  
"The 97th, madam," the fine haired boy said, in a small voice. She smiled at him, knowing who he was (go to - c.html and look the name up), and he grinned at her. Some confidence back, he walked to the stool and plopped the hat on his head.  
  
"Ravenclaw!" the hat screamed abruptly. The boy grinned, walking to his house table amidst the cheers. Ev lost interest about halfway through the sorting, instead staring up at the ceiling, which was dark and cloudy.  
  
Tut, tut, looks like rain, she thought to herself.  
  
McGonagall was already in the T's by the time Ev realized her name hadn't been called.  
  
Finally she was finished and started another speech, "I have an announcement to make. This year we have a new student." Ev could hear people whispering but paid no mind to it. She glanced at Malfoy and saw him give her a dirty look. She was gonna have fun with him. "She's in her sixth year and transferred here from America where she went to Horsefly. I trust her house and its students will welcome her and answer any of her questions. You all remember what it was like to be the new student." She sternly looked around the hall. "Rhyahnnon, Everard." This McGonagall called out sharply.  
  
Ev, the only person standing in the hall, slowly made her way towards the stool amidst the whisperings going on around her.  
  
She snatched the hat from McGonagall's hand, who only look shocked for a second, and, sitting on the stool, placed it on her head.  
  
"Mmmmmm," the hat mumbled in her head," smart. could be Ravenclaw.daring, certainly a lot of nerve, do well in Gryffindor.cunning, very cunning. lots of Slytherin in you. won't be Hufflepuff. Mmmm."  
  
"Oh get on with it!" Ev snapped to the hat.  
  
"Touchy! Another Slytherin trait. Where to put you. Eenie, meeny, miney, mo. Okay GRYFFINDOR!"  
  
Ev stood up among polite applause. Walking to the Gryffindor table, she courteously shook all the offered hands. With a sigh she plopped down next to Remus and Rae.  
  
"Couldn't do without you," she muttered sarcastically over the food that had just appeared on the tables.  
  
Her mouth fell open and she watched as the others piled food on their plates, or, in Ev's mind, dead carcasses.  
  
"Want some?" Sirius asked, holding a plate of turkey in front of her.  
  
"No thanks, I don't eat flesh."  
  
"What?" Lily asked from next to Peter and James.  
  
"That's flesh you're shoveling into your mouth. It was a living-breathing creature. I mean, it probably had a name."  
  
"Hey, I didn't climb my way to the top of the food chain to be a vegetarian." Peter said loudly, offended that she was dissing his food, the love of his life.  
  
"Come on, an animal had to die so you could eat him and then poop him out. You might as well let him live and just eat something else. Like salad, salad's good," Ev stood up slightly and reached out in front of Sirius to grab a bowl of salad. She continued to load her salad with croutons and salad dressing.  
  
Disappointingly, the others continued with their meals of dead and helpless animals.  
  
"So," said Sirius, chomping on a piece of shepherd's pie, "you're a vegetarian. Isn't that cute."  
  
"Yeah, whatever. It's not just that. I've never really liked meat." She chewed contentedly on her salad and took a sip of her pumpkin juice.  
  
Her eyes widened suddenly and she leaned forward, grabbing a large roll. The others watched as she opened it up, buttered the warm inside, and placed strawberry jam on it. "This is what I'm talking about. God, I love bread!"  
  
The others just continued eating.  
  
"So.you're American," Peter piped up, voicing all the others thoughts.  
  
"Yeahhhh!" she answered slowly.  
  
"What's with your accent?" Ara asked.  
  
"My accent!" Ev laughed. "What about yours. The freaky adult sounding voice. It's deceiving. You think 'wow, they must be smart'." She looked at Sirius. "Then of course they speak. And you almost have to really pay attention to understand. And don't even get me started on all of your complexions. It's like Children of the Corn or something."  
  
"Children of the what?" James asked incredulously. Ev rolled her eyes.  
  
"Our complexions?" Sirius voiced. "What about yours."  
  
"What about it?" she said looking at him with attitude.  
  
Undeterred, he said, "You look like you were burned within an inch of your life."  
  
"It's probably fake. I saw on T.V. show once that people don't wanna get burnt or skin cancer, so they go to a booth and they spray it on or they put on a fake tan lotion." Peter put in his two cents.  
  
Ev whipped her head toward him. "What are you babbling about?"  
  
Peter lowered his eyes.  
  
"Shut up. Stop being such a bitch to him." Sirius exclaimed.  
  
"Oh okay." Sarcasm actually hit Sirius in the face.  
  
They spent the rest of the feast talking about this and that and the other thing.  
  
Finally the feast ended and they all stood up to go to the common room. The others all stayed up to talk, but Ev went straight to bed, tired from having to wake up early to pack since she waited until the last minute.  
  
After changing into white pajama cotton bottoms and a white spaghetti strap tank top, she laid down on her bed. She knew it was hers because her trunk was at the end of it. Her bed, covered in a red comforter, was next to the large window and the glass doors that ran out onto the balcony. She stood up and cracked the window, loving the feeling of the breeze on her face, and laid back down on the bed.  
  
Ev sat straight up in bed, gasping and panting. A cold trickle of sweat ran down her face. A single tear closely followed it, but that's as far as Ev let it go. She refused to cry, not for him, not for that.  
  
She held up the ring around her neck and looked closely at it. Sighing, she pulled back the curtains and stood up. She tiptoed, quietly so as not to wake up Ara, Rae, or Lily, to the bathroom.  
  
Seeing her pale, wet face in the mirror she sighed. "What's wrong with me?"  
  
Placing a silencing charm on the room, she stripped off her clothes. Turning on the shower, she stepped into the hot, steamy shower. Turning the nozzle, she made it cold. Ah, this she liked a lot better.  
  
After her long shower, she dressed again in her pajamas. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she hated herself.  
  
Wimp, she thought to herself.  
  
She lay on her bed but was unable to sleep. Images that brought back awful memories flashed in her head. She felt it on her skin, inside of her. Closing her eyes, she saw him. A strangled sob tore out of her throat.  
  
Enough of this.  
  
Ev stood up and tiptoed out of the dormitory and out of the common room.  
  
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""  
  
15 minutes later found her standing on the tallest tower of the castle. The wind whipped at her hair and clothes. A light rain fell down and quickly turned into a downpour. Her pajamas were soaked through. She loved water. Loved the rain pouring down her body, washing everything away. Cleansing her.  
  
She lifted her face toward the sky.  
  
As she always did when alone with her thoughts, Ev began to sing. It was a song she loved for the lyrics. Card Michael's Gods Own Fool (good song).  
  
Seems I've imagined Him all of my life  
  
As the wisest of all of mankind  
  
But if God's Holy wisdom is foolish to man  
  
He must have seemed out of His mind  
  
Even His family said He was mad  
  
And the priest said a demon's to blame  
  
But, God in the form of this angry young man  
  
Could not have seemed perfectly sane  
  
We in our foolishness thought we were wise  
  
He played the fool and He opened our eyes  
  
We in our weakness believed we were strong  
  
He became helpless to show we were wrong  
  
So we follow God's own Fool  
  
For only the foolish can tell  
  
Believe the unbelievable, come be a fool as well  
  
So come lose your life for a carpenter's son  
  
For a man never died for a dream  
  
And You'll have the faith His first followers had  
  
And you'll feel the weight of the beam  
  
So surrender the hunger to save us now  
  
And The courage to say I believe  
  
For the power of paradox opens your eyes  
  
And blinds those who say they can see  
  
So we follow God's own Fool  
  
For only the foolish can tell  
  
Believe the unbelievable, come be a fool as well  
  
She sang in a clear, low voice. She'd sung this song hundreds of years ago it seemed but it was only a couple of years since she'd laid in her bed, tears pouring down her face, whispering the song to herself.  
  
Ev spent a long time there. Long enough to witness the butt-crack of dawn. She watched as the first light of the morning touched the sky.  
  
She went back to her dormitory, gaining only an hour of sleep before she was forced to get up for her first day of school.  
  
":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":": ":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":":  
  
At breakfast she once again sat by Lily, James, Remus, Sirius, Peter, Ara, and Rae, just for lack of knowing anyone else.  
  
The others stared at her as she loaded her plate with a biscuit and other non-animal items. Her eyes were shadowed and she looked tired. Yet, unlike Sirius who got enough sleep and was still tired, she didn't yawn or complain. It was like she was used to it. Used to sleepless nights.  
  
McGonagall handed out their schedules. They all compared theirs. Ev had most of her classes with Rae, James, Peter, and Sirius since the other three had a lot of advanced classes. In fact, Ev all the same classes as Sirius and James. Rae had advanced Transfiguration. Peter was taking remedial potions.  
  
As Sirius, James, and Ev walked toward their first class, Muggle Studies, with James in the middle since Sirius still hated Ev, Ev promised herself to be happy during the day. Hide your pain. That was her philosophy in life.  
  
(She takes muggle studies even though she's a muggle-born because it's easy)  
  
The professor of Muggle Studies was a young man named Professor Schneider. He asked everyone to call him Dave. He was automatically in with everyone.  
  
He was a blondish radish haired guy. He had an easy smile and a dark tan. He was what you called buff. Many girls sighed as they saw him; not Ev.  
  
"Hello, everybody. Lovely morning isn't it?" He smiled at them. The girls grinned back. Ev rolled her eyes. The guys rolled their eyes.  
  
The class was quite small. About thirteen students sat in the small room.  
  
"I want to get to know everyone a little better. What we're going to do is go around the room, say our name, and something no one else knows. Okay? I'll go first." He rubbed his chin, thinking. "My name's David Jonathan Schneider. Something no one knows.I'm an identical twin." He waited for the collective "ooh"s from the girls. Having it he continued, "When I was young I used to think everyone was a twin."  
  
Around the room people laughed and grinned. Dave pointed at the next person.  
  
"Johnny Sherwood.ummmmmm." this boy decided to be funny too, "I used to think that Gunpoint was an actual place." The people who knew what gunpoint was laughed. "Think about it. 'Tourists are being terrorized at Gunpoint.people are being held at Gunpoint. I just kept thinking 'why do people continue to go there'." This caused uproar among the class. Dave himself was doubled over laughing.  
  
///////////////////////////////////// Review! Review! More of Muggle Studies in next chapter. Tell me if you don't like the way something's going. I'll tell you to shove off! Ha! I'm the ruler here! 


	5. Tattoos, Noses, and Uncomfortable Silenc...

Tattoos, Noses, and Uncomfortable Silences  
  
"I hate peas. One time I found them in the cupboard, so I took all 7 cans and buried them all in the backyard." Laughter. "They're really gross and green and shriveled." Marvine Thommson smiled as people chuckled.  
  
Now it was James' turn. "James Potter.I have a crush on Lily Evans, she thinks I'm stupid. Never gonna happen." Some people giggled and others just looked sympathetic.  
  
Except for Ev. "Stupid boy! She loves you."  
  
"What?" James asked.  
  
"It's so obvious!" Ev threw her head back and laughed at the look on James' face.  
  
"Next," Dave said, looking at Sirius.  
  
"Oh! Ummm, Sirius Hottie Black. Women love me, boyfriends hate me." Sirius grinned at his wit.  
  
"Your boyfriends or the girls'?" Ev questioned. Sirius' face turned red and everyone laughed.  
  
"Hey, Everard!" Ev turned her head toward Sirius. He held his middle finger up at her.  
  
She made a motion as if she was grabbing it. 'Thanks' she mouthed and pretended to stick it in her pocket.  
  
He rolled his eyes.  
  
"All right, stop it you two," Dave reprimanded. "Your turn," he motioned to Ev.  
  
"Name's Everard Rhyahnnon, Ev for short. I'm an orphan slash foster child. I live with a friend of mine." Everyone looked at her waiting for something a bit more interesting. "Okay. Uhhhh. I had to see a psychiatrist. He commented on my tattoos," here she raised her arm showing her Chinese tattoo, "he said they were my 'cry for help'. I stopped going, got another tattoo." Ev finished and propped a foot on her chair, the front of her leg resting on her desk. She casually laid her arm across her knee.  
  
There was a silence. An awkward silence.  
  
"Okay, next," Dave finally said. First class of the day and already a weirdo, he thought to himself.  
  
Ev grinned and sat there quietly for the rest of the class.  
  
Finally the bell rang and everyone stood up, racing to the door.  
  
Ev took her time, reaching down and grabbing her black bag.  
  
"Miss umm.Rhyahnnon, could I talk to you for a second."  
  
Here we go, Ev thought, walking toward Dave.  
  
"Yes?" she asked, raising her pierced eyebrow.  
  
"About your wardrobe, I find it odd that you are wearing muggle clothing while others are wearing the required uniforms?" he posed this as a question.  
  
"And."  
  
"Have you gotten consent from anyone that you are permitted to wear customary attire?"  
  
"No," she breathed in response.  
  
"Well, until you get authorization, I request you to wear the uniform."  
  
"What does it matter," Ev said slowly.  
  
"Just do it!" he burst back.  
  
"Very well." Ev turned around and walked out of the classroom.  
  
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""  
  
McGonagall was waiting for her next class when the new student burst in.  
  
"Do I have to wear the uniform?" she asked quickly.  
  
McGonagall looked her up and down, "Yes I believe so."  
  
"Is it written in blood or chiseled in stone somewhere?"  
  
"Nooo," Professor McGonagall answered slowly. "But it's required."  
  
"Can I take this up with the headmaster?" Ev asked pointedly.  
  
"Sure, but later. Right now you should be in class." McGonagall looked at the room, which was slowly filling with students.  
  
"No, because then, I'll have to go through this with every teacher I have. And I don't have the energy for that."  
  
McGonagall sighed. "Fine, go to his office." She gave her the directions and password.  
  
Smiling, Ev stalked out and continued on to the headmaster's office.  
  
Ev watched as the statue moved aside to show the moving staircase. She groaned.  
  
No friggin way, she thought, more confined spaces.  
  
Taking a deep breath she stepped on. She stayed on that first step before thinking 'screw this.' She quickly walked up the steps, skipping every other one. Once she reached the door she didn't knock. She just burst through the door. Dumbledore looked surprised, if only a little bit.  
  
"Yes," he asked kindly, "may I be of help?"  
  
"Yes, actually, I was wondering about the uniforms. Are they required? I mean, is it a rule? Will I get expelled if I don't wear it?"  
  
"You will be wearing something, correct?" he asked with humor. Ev just nodded curtly. "Well, in fact, it's not a rule. It's just always been followed. We had a rulebook, but Mr. Filch 'accidentally' lost it, just so he could persecute students for doing things they didn't know were wrong I believe but I have yet to ask him about it. Anyway," he continued after rambling, although Ev doubted he ever rambled, "I see nothing wrong with you wearing muggle clothing if you prefer it." He smiled at her.  
  
"Well, thank you," Ev replied, surprised at how easy it was.  
  
"Now, please go back to class, Miss Rhyahnnon," his eyes twinkled at her, "I hope you sleep better tomorrow."  
  
Ev, who had turned to leave, whipped around and looked at him, her eyes wide. "What, did.you say?" she managed to gasp out.  
  
"You look tired, I'm sure it's hard to sleep in a new place like this. Hope you get over that." Ev sighed after he said this, but Dumbledore still looked at her with a knowing look.  
  
"Thank you, Dumbledore," she smirked at him. He inclined his head at her in answer, watching as Ev slowly walked out of the room.  
  
"You lie to her, Professor," he muttered to himself.  
  
"Yes, but it is fun to alienate, isn't it?" he replied to himself in a clear voice. The portraits on the wall took no heed to him talking to himself and hardly looked up. He was brilliant, why shouldn't he be able to talk to himself?  
  
??????????????????????????????????????  
  
Ev burst into Potions quite late, after searching for the right class, but she walked in as if it didn't matter.  
  
"Why are you late, young lady?" the Potions master asked icily.  
  
"I had to speak with the Headmaster." She replied back in a would-be-perky- voice had it not been for the coolness in her eyes.  
  
"Who are you?" Ev asked suddenly.  
  
"I am the Potions master, Professor Raygon," he replied shortly. "And who are you?"  
  
"I am the student, Everard Rhyahnnon," she replied in a lofty voice.  
  
The professor whipped around, glaring at her.  
  
"See me after class so we can discuss your detention."  
  
"Second class of the day and already I got a detention, wow, I'm doing better this year. I was only seven detentions away from the record at my last school you know. Damn disappointment!" She plopped down next to Rae and opened her book. "Go ahead, teach."  
  
Raygon looked fiercely at her, but a smirk fell onto his face as he turned around to write on the board. "Two detentions, young lady."  
  
Ev grinned sarcastically and stared out the window to her right.  
  
Ah, to be a troublesome student.  
  
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%5  
  
The Slytherins and Gryffindors stood outside the Transfiguration classroom, waiting until the last possible second to go in.  
  
Ev leaned against the wall, holding her bookbag in one hand, dangling it at the floor. She glared at the Slytherins across from her, the Gryffindors being on one wall, them on the other.  
  
Lucius raised an eyebrow suggestively at her and smirked at her, staring at something other than her face. While others around them talked loudly and made a ruckus, he strode purposefully toward her, a somewhat debonair smirk on his face. Ev groaned and looked at the stone ceiling.  
  
"Son of a bitch," she muttered loud enough for him to hear and anyone close to them. "Why, why me? Do you hate me? Past meetings would point in that direction wouldn't they?" She spoke sarcastically to God.  
  
Lucius had by now reached her.  
  
"Have you missed me?" he asked coolly.  
  
Ev wobbled her head back and forth, as if considering the question.  
  
"No," she answered simply.  
  
"I think you have."  
  
"Willing to bet on that?"  
  
"I'd be willing to bet that right now, you'd do anything to kiss me." He ran his finger down the side of her face and down to her stomach.  
  
"Remember what happened the last time you did something quite akin to this?" Ev voiced casually.  
  
"You're just playing hard to get. So I'll be surprised when you finally come after me." Ev gazed derisively at him when he said this.  
  
She let him hang there for about 4 seconds after he said that.  
  
Then, using all her strength, which certainly wasn't little, she connected her left fist with his pale crooked nose.  
  
"Surprised." She asked rhetorically, shaking her hand to rid of the small pain she felt compared to his  
  
He groaned from his position on the floor. "Thought so." She let out her breath loudly and looked up.  
  
Definitely had everyone's attention now. The hallway was quiet. Had this girl just punched him?  
  
"You go girl," Rae said in a perfect attempt at sounding like what she thought an American teenager would have said in this situation.  
  
Ev chuckled.  
  
Still quiet.  
  
The bell rang.  
  
No one moved.  
  
Noisy silence.  
  
Weighty silence.  
  
Couldn't cut through it with a knife it was so thick.  
  
"'Bout time for class, don't ya think?" Slinging her bag over her shoulder, Ev loped into the classroom.  
  
"That girls all about the class," a girl whispered to her friend as everyone slowly walked into class, stepping over Malfoy on the way. On him if necessary.  
  
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""  
  
Finally the day ended and the group of friends and Ev (She wasn't really a friend but they were beginning to respect her) walked to their common room. Sirius, James, and Rae were loudly going over every detail of Ev's punch to Malfoy's nose.  
  
At about 8:30 Ev looked up from her finished homework. "Where's your weight room at?"  
  
"Our what?" James replied, puzzled.  
  
"Your weight room. Where you work out. Lift weights and stuff."  
  
"We don't have one," Remus answered for James.  
  
"Why's that?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"You do have sports right?" Ev asked.  
  
"Yeah, Quidditch." Sirius said eagerly at the prospect of a discussion on Quidditch.  
  
"Just Quidditch? What about football, swimming, running.." She looked at them with a mixture of astonishment and puzzlement.  
  
"What's football?" Sirius questioned.  
  
"It's a game with a white ball that you kick with your feet." Rae answered since she was a Muggle born.  
  
"No!" Ev cried out, standing up quickly. "That's the sissy game you English made up for it. Football is the battle. The pigskin. The burliness. One of you has to know what football is." She looked close to tears at their incompetence. "Well, I'll just have to educate you." She grabbed parchment and knelt by the table. 


	6. The Football, the Battle, the Burliness

We all know I don't own the characters so whatever.  
  
Review. Please. By the way, earlier I said James and Lily were dating. They aren't. They like each other.  
  
Football, The Battle, The Burliness  
  
"Okay, so you have two end zones. Our team tries to score in this one and they try in the other; like the goal posts in Quidditch. Eleven players from each team go out at a time. There are kind of two teams on a team: defense and offense. Defense tries to stop the other team from scoring and offense tries to score. Every time you score it is worth six points. Then, you try for the two-point conversion, and if you get it you have eight points. Now the offense gets four chances to go ten yards. Each time its called a down. You start off with first and ten. If you go the ten yards you have another first down and ten. If you don't you have a second down and however many yards are left from the ten before. You play it on the ground in pads and helmets. You squat down and when you start everyone has a job. There are centers, quarterback, lots of things." Ev looked up into the faces of the people surrounding her.  
  
They looked astounded.  
  
"Well, it's sort of complicated. But that's what makes it great. There are penalties if you do something wrong like delay on the play, or starting to early, or holding or something. With me so far?"  
  
"It's like she's trying to speak to me, I know it. Look, you're hot, but I don't understand what you're saying," Sirius said loudly to her as if she was deaf.  
  
"When's the wizard going to get back to you about that brain," Ev asked Sirius sarcastically. His face turned even more confused.  
  
"You guys suck," Ev continued, shaking her head. She stood up and walked towards the portrait to get out of the common room.  
  
"Where are you going?" Lily asked.  
  
"To talk to the headmaster," Ev responded, "you have to have a weight room. How am I supposed to work out."  
  
After Ev was gone the others looked at her.  
  
"There's something seriously wrong with that girl," James said.  
  
"Don't be mean, James," Lily reprimanded.  
  
James turned red.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Dumbledore looked up as Ev walked through his office door.  
  
She then stopped, staring at him in his purple pajamas. "Okaaaayyy."  
  
"Can I help you?" he asked, smiling at her.  
  
"I'd love it if you could try. Here's the thing D Dog," Dumbledore merely looked amused at what she called him, "now, I like to work out. It's how I vent, but apparently you don't have a weight room. And that's a problem for me. I like to exercise."  
  
"How would you like me to help with that?"  
  
"Could you, like, put one in?" Ev questioned.  
  
"Well, I don't pretend to know all the rooms in my own school, but you could ask the house elves. They clean the school, so chances are, maybe they ran across a weight room that I don't know about." Dumbledore beamed at her.  
  
"How am I supposed to ask them."  
  
"Don't mention this to anyone, but I will inform you of where the kitchens are." Dumbledore then proceeded to tell her of the easiest way to the kitchens and how to get in. "Please, don't reveal it to anyone else. I'd have students going down there at all hours of the night. Get yourself a snack while you're down there."  
  
"Thank you, professor." Ev said sincerely.  
  
He inclined his head, "You are very welcome."  
  
"See ya later, Double D," said casually as she walked toward the door.  
  
"Doubled D?" questioned the headmaster.  
  
"Sounds better than D Dog I think." Ev told him.  
  
He smiled at her. "Of course, call me what you like, Miss Rhyahnnon."  
  
"Everard," Ev put in, "call me Everard."  
  
"Good evening, Everard."  
  
"Auf Wiedersehen, Double D." Ev ambled out the door and Dumbledore smiled at her retreating form. He liked her. (What she says means "until we see each other again" in German)  
  
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""'''  
  
Ev tickled the pear and, after turning the knob that appeared there, poked her hear into the room. Ah, yes, the kitchens. A mischievous grin lit her face and she strode into the room.  
  
"House elves," she called. Not like that, don't scare them, speak like them, she thought. "House elves," she called in a high-pitched voice. "I'm here to borrow some brown sugar."  
  
A small house elf in a clean white tea cozy appeared, holding a tray of tea.  
  
"Hello," he said squeakily, "can I help thee, ma'm."  
  
"Umm, yeah, Dumbledore sent me hear to ask about maybe the castle having a weight room. Does it have one?" she asked hopefully.  
  
"No, miss, it doesn't, but we can make one."  
  
"Make one?"  
  
"Please follow me, but first would you like anything to drink or eat?" he asked with anticipation.  
  
"Sure, do you have bottled water?" The house elf nodded and ran to get one. He hurried to her and thrust it into her hands. "Thank you."  
  
"My pleasure." He set down the tray and led her out into the dark cold hallways.  
  
After a bit of a walk he walked to the end of a hallway, turned around and walked the other way then came back. He did this three times. Ev just looked on but was pleasantly surprised when a door appeared in the stonewall.  
  
The house elf opened it and led her in. "The Room of Requirement, miss. All you have to do is think of what you want and it appears. Try it."  
  
Ev thought of a book and, lo and behold, one appeared on the floor. "Wow," she exclaimed, this could be useful. "Thanks." The elf turned to go. "What's your name?"  
  
"Gill," he replied and, shutting the door, left her alone.  
  
Hmmm, Ev reflected, then grinned, excellent, very excellent.  
  
What do I want? What do I want?  
  
Ten minutes later Ev had changed into sweatpants and a spandex workout tank top that showed her stomach. Thinking, suddenly a whole gym transpired before her eyes.  
  
Grinning, she went to work.  
  
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::  
  
Remus, James, Sirius, Peter, Lily, Ara, and Rae were all still in the common room. James, Sirius, and Peter were finishing homework as the others spoke about past years, Quidditch, and other topics.  
  
They were doing this as Ev walked through the door, wearing workout clothes? What the hell?  
  
"Hey guys," Ev said, arching her back to stretch her muscles.  
  
"Where have you been? What are .. wearing? Doing?" Ara asked with her mouth open.  
  
"Yeah," the others chorused quietly.  
  
"I was just lifting weights, doing squats, bench press, dead lift, you know." Ev responded.  
  
"No, we don't know!" Sirius exclaimed. "Where did you find a weight room?"  
  
"The Room of Requirement," Ev answered.  
  
"Oh," Rae said. "No, what?"  
  
"Ugghhh, follow me." Ev walked out of the room. Hesitantly the others followed.  
  
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@  
  
"Holy mother of, whoa!" James said, looking around the room Ev led them to. It was currently filled with gym equipment.  
  
"How'd you find this place?" Peter asked.  
  
"A hundred thousand sperm and you were the fastest." Ev said dubiously.  
  
He looked at her, wide eyed.  
  
"Ugh, follow me." Ev said, disgusted.  
  
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$  
  
"Holy mother of, whoa," everyone exclaimed as they looked around the kitchen.  
  
A house elf scurried forward. Eagerly, she asked, "Can I help you?"  
  
"Bottle of water," Ev said, still in her workout clothes. Seconds later one was placed in her hands. Ev took off the cap and poured some in her mouth.  
  
"How'd you find this place?" they all questioned.  
  
"Dumbledore told me when I asked." Ev sat down at one of the house tables.  
  
They all followed suit and sat with her.  
  
"Anyone hungry?" Sirius suddenly spurted.  
  
"Fine, but no dead animals," Ev said, laughing. She snapped her fingers. "Good woman," she called to a house elf.  
  
It rushed forward only to reveal that it was a male. Everyone laughed.  
  
"Can we have some ice cream."  
  
"Sure," he responded.  
  
"With whipped cream." Rae said loudly.  
  
"And nuts," Lily added, equally as loud.  
  
"You like nuts do you," James said suggestively. Lily glared at him but then giggled.  
  
"Shut up, moron," she said dryly.  
  
"Can I interrupt this little flirty moment," Sirius said, "ah well, I'm gonna. I would so love to have ice cream with no bakes on it. Not hard, but still melted. Can you do that? Do you know how to do that?"  
  
"Well, what are these no bakes?" the elf asked timidly.  
  
"You don't know what no bakes are?!" Sirius and Ev exclaimed loudly.  
  
"No," the house elf said, looking scared. Ev and Sirius looked at each other, shaking their heads.  
  
"Would you very much mind if I took over your kitchen and made some?" Ev inquired. The house elf shook his head.  
  
"Alrighty then." Ev stood up and walked into the kitchen, leaving the others to talk amongst them for a minute, before the food they wanted was brought.  
  
After a minute, Sirius followed her into the kitchen. "You know how to make no bakes?"  
  
"Fuck yeah, it's my specialty."  
  
She grabbed ingredients and Sirius hopped onto the counter beside the stove as she made it.  
  
"And I thought you were god for nothing," he said, staring at her.  
  
Ev stared back at him. "Don't piss me off, I'm running out of places to hide the bodies."  
  
"Do you have to be a bitch?" Sirius said angrily.  
  
"Yes I do. I go from zero to bitch in 3.5 seconds. Three flat on a good day."  
  
"Wow, you can think and talk at the same time." Sirius said.  
  
"Was that your attempt at being witty?" Ev responded, quick as a flash.  
  
"Sorry if I look interested in anything you have to say. I'm not."  
  
"You know what? Learn from your parents' mistakes. Use protection." Ev looked fiercely at him.  
  
Sirius stared at her, then, suddenly, burst out laughing.  
  
"Blessed are those that can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused." Ev supplied.  
  
By now Sirius was laughing so hard a tear streamed down his face. Laughter is infectious and soon Ev herself was laughing too. Leaning over before the stove.  
  
"You go from angry to funny in like three seconds." Sirius gasped out.  
  
"All I gotta do is count to ten and I'm funny," Ev said, laughing.  
  
"Don't wear mittens, it'll slow ya down," Sirius said. A bark of laughter fell out of his mouth and set him off again. By now he had slid down onto the floor and was practically rolling with laughter.  
  
Pretty soon Ev was right next to him, hardly breathing she was laughing so hard.  
  
Finally Sirius sat up. "Wow, I couldn't breathe but it was totally worth it," he mimicked her, sending them both into fresh peals of laughter.  
  
"Ahem," someone grunted.  
  
Ev and Sirius looked up, still grinning. "Yes," Sirius gasped out.  
  
"So, you've finally stopped hating each other?" Lily asked. The others all nodded.  
  
"No, I think he's a bastard."  
  
"And she's a bitch."  
  
The others just growled and walked out at their stupidity. Why were they so stubborn? Couldn't they be friends?  
  
"This coming from a dog," Ev (Ev like in ever for LuvSnuffles!) said about Sirius' earlier comment.  
  
"What? What do you mean?"  
  
"You being an Animagus. Moony, Wormtail, Prongs, Padfoot." Ev answered.  
  
"How, how do you know about that?" Sirius said, his eyes wide.  
  
"Heard ya talking about the upcoming full moon," Ev said casually, standing up.  
  
"Well aren't you just the smartest thing to walk the earth since sliced bread." Sirius muttered, standing up also.  
  
"Your ridiculous little opinion has been noted," Ev said sourly, looking at him out of the corner of her eyes.  
  
They both snorted and continued to laugh.  
  
******************************* Thanking my first two reviewers, especially Jayme3. Also Nox3.  
  
All ya threes love me. ( Yeah, anyway. Forgive me.  
  
I don't suffer from insanity; I enjoy every minute of it. ( 


	7. Halloween, Snakes, Alienation

Halloween, Snakes, Alienation  
  
Over the next month, Sirius and Ev continued their banter. One would insult the other and back and forth. They also continued to hate each other. Or so they said.  
  
Ev became fast friends with the girls and guys, although James was also included in the childish banter.  
  
Finally, it was the night before Halloween. After a late night in the kitchens, during which they all had desert, Sirius and Ev with no bakes, they all crept back to the common room and went to bed.  
  
Ev was finally having a good sleep when she woke up to screams in the morning. She sighed, not opening her eyes. Finally, after the screams continued and Lily ran over and started shaking her, she sat straight up in bed and opened her eyes..only to see a rather large snake on the foot of her bed.  
  
Hmm, she thought.  
  
"Get out of bed slowly," Lily instructed, staring at the snake, "it might bite you.  
  
Ev rolled her eyes. "It's a constrictor, it won't bite." She pulled back her covers and got out of bed.  
  
Taking a careful look around the room she grinned. Someone did a good job about this.  
  
"I can't believe the guys did this," Ara wailed. She was standing in the middle of the room, avoiding the bats, spiders, and snakes that freely roamed the room. Suddenly a spider hit her in the face and she screamed. Running around the room, she shook her head as if the spider was touching her. The others ran to her to help. Ev just laughed.  
  
As if on cue for this hilarious sight, James, Remus, Sirius, and Peter burst into the room. Peter snapped pictures as the others laughed.  
  
The girls grunted, running up to them and hitting them.  
  
"I can't believe you, James," Lily screeched.  
  
"A spider touched me, you asshole," Ara yelled above the din.  
  
"Poor Ev woke up with a huge snake in her bed." Rae told them angrily, meanwhile beating Remus in the chest. He just laughed at her feeble attempts.  
  
The guys turned to look at Ev for her reaction to what they'd done. They really wanted to scare her.  
  
Boy, were they disappointed.  
  
Her face was alight with mirth, and a corner of her mouth was turned up in amusement. Abruptly, Ev started clapping loudly. "Bravo, bravo. I salute you all." She bent over laughing.  
  
"You weren't scared?" Sirius asked sadly.  
  
Ev shook her head. Picking up the snake from her bed, she allowed it to curl around her hands and arms. She brought it close to her face, grinning.  
  
Suddenly Rae and Lily screamed as a bat flew toward them. "Kill it, kill it," they shrieked, running to the bathroom and hiding behind the door.  
  
"Get rid of them," Ara ordered them sternly. "Remus, you should know better."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, I should," Remus said, then grinned.  
  
The girls scowled at him.  
  
James, Peter, and Sirius were still staring at Ev. "Snakes don't scare you?" Peter asked.  
  
"Hell no," Ev responded, "I used to own five myself."  
  
Lily ran up to James. "Make them disappear, James, now!" She yelled this loudly. People from other rooms were now staring in. James backed up, looking scared.  
  
"Okay, it's okay, breathe. I'll take care of it."  
  
He raised his wand, intending to get rid of the beasts, but Ev suddenly yelled, "Wait! Don't! Not this one. Can I keep it?" She looked at the snake fondly.  
  
Sirius shook his head dejectedly. "I can't believe you like snakes. You're a freak. Did you know that?"  
  
"I tell myself that every day actually," Ev answered, grinning broadly.  
  
James muttered something and suddenly all the animals were gone, even the snake.  
  
"Why'd you do that?" she posed.  
  
He rolled his shoulders, "I hate snakes. You have no idea how hard it was to put them in here and you're not even scared. At least you girls were though," he grinned suddenly, "Ahhhhhhhhhh!" he yelled, imitating the girls. The guys laughed and the girls looked murderous.  
  
"Asshole!"  
  
"Bastard!"  
  
"F-ing gits!"  
  
The guys laughed, walking over to lay on various beds. Ara, Rae, and Lily stayed huddled together, their arms crossed.  
  
"So, what do you want to do today?" James asked from Lily's bed.  
  
"Get the hell out, we have to change." Lily ordered.  
  
"You can do that with us in here." Sirius grinned, looking the girls over in their school pajamas. He then side longed a look at Ev. His moth fell open. "Why aren't you wearing the pajamas they provide you with."  
  
"Because they are an abomination to fashion." Ev responded crossly. She sat at the foot of her bed, along with Sirius.  
  
He looked her over, taking in her pajamas. They were black and silk. Dayummm. The bottoms were just regular old bottoms that went to her anles.  
  
But the top. Ah, bless the top. A spaghetti strap tank top that showed her oh-so-perfect tan and long torso and tan neck. She had a great neck. Damn. Not a sufficient amount cleavage to get a good look, but they weren't bad. Using strength he didn't know he had, Sirius turned his eyes from the delicious sight.  
  
"Besides," Ev added, "I'm sleeping in it, do they really care?"  
  
"I guess not," Sirius mumbled.  
  
"Now leave so we can change."  
  
"We don't have to leave for that." Sirius suggested. Ev glared at him.  
  
"Don't MAKE me open up a can of whoop ass." Ev warned.  
  
Believing her the boys all left.  
  
Ev went into the bathroom and changed into a pair of blue jeans and a white tee shirt. She pulled her leather jacket on over this.  
  
Looking at herself in the mirror, she muttered, "Okay, Ev, it's tomorrow, you know it is, but you won't freak out. You'll be good. No crying, no freaking out." She nodded at herself, brushed her teeth, and walked out. The other girls went in there to do makeup.  
  
Ev leaned against the doorframe. "Lily, do you like James?"  
  
"No!" Lily answered too quickly that even Zaphod Beeblebrox wouldn't have been able to follow. (HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY read it).  
  
"Oh, that's right. You just love him." Ara said, giggling as she applied mascara.  
  
"That is so very much in no way true." Lily said forcefully. The others just nodded at each other in a she's-lying-out-her-ass way. Lily growled in response.  
  
"Why are you dressing yourself up for him then and flirting with him constantly, hitting him like that and such?" Ev said triumphantly, as if she had won a race to the end of the universe and now could go eat at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe (again from that book)  
  
Lily didn't respond. She just changed the subject. "Why don't you wear makeup?"  
  
"Who says I don't?" Ev responded.  
  
"Why not?" Lily asked seriously.  
  
"Why should I?" Ev asked wisely.  
  
"Just.cause," Ara said.  
  
"Oh, well, you've convinced me," she responded sarcastically.  
  
The girls giggled, except for Ev. She didn't giggle.  
  
Meanwhile in the boys dormitory.  
  
"Weren't they great!" Sirius said loudly as they walked into their dorm.  
  
"Hell, yeah," James answered, knowing full well what he was talking about.  
  
"They are so round and soft looking," Peter said.  
  
"And warm and lush and." Remus trailed off wistfully, stooping to their level.  
  
"She is hot, there is no denying it."  
  
"Did you see the pajamas she wore? Silk. Black. Tiny."  
  
"And she's so tan. And hot!"  
  
"I didn't get enough of a look, but I liked 'em."  
  
"I know. DAMN bras. Damn all the bras."  
  
"Speaking of bras," Sirius said, "remember on the train, "we saw her bra then. How do bras make em look so good?"  
  
"I don't know. They make em so round and.juicy." Everyone looked at James for this comment. He just shrugged. "Sorry. I'm horny."  
  
Sirius plopped onto his back on his bed.  
  
"Don't you think bras are actually better than the things themselves? I mean they come in lace, silk, colors, see-through." Sirius trailed off, picturing Ev's black bra.  
  
Remus cleared his throat. "Man, have you ever seen a pair of em without the bra?" He looked at Sirius, tight-lipped.  
  
Sirius looked up, red. "Of course I have."  
  
"Besides your mothers," Peter retorted.  
  
Everyone, but Sirius, laughed.  
  
Later on in the day, at dinner, everyone was talking. Ev, in between Sirius and Rae, was thinking to herself about the upcoming day. She was going to freak out. She just knew it. She had last year. It was tomorrow. At least there was no school and she could freak out in silence, without anyone witnessing it.  
  
I have long feared that my sins would return to haunt me, and the cost would be more than I could bear, Ev thought, then smiled. That totally applied to her.  
  
Just then an owl swooped in to deliver a late letter. Ev was quite shocked when it came right up to her and dropped the letter in her hand. Puzzled, she looked at the name on it and gasped. Okay, she was gonna start freaking out early.  
  
Slowly, she opened the letter as the others continued to talk around her.  
  
Dear Miss Rhyahnnon,  
  
I'm sure you know whom this is from, so I won't be clearing it up it to you. You'll remember me. I just sought out.  
  
The letter continued on from there. After she finished, Ev sat there gazing at the paper clutched in her hand. Her eyes started to water, but still she didn't blink.  
  
"Who's that from?" Sirius asked, looking at the letter in her hands.  
  
Ev turned her head to him, not truly seeing him. A tear rolled down the side of her face and a strangled sob tore out of her throat. Blinking, she stood up and bolted out of the great hall. The guys and girls (that's what I call the Marauders and Rae, Ara, and Lily so I don't have to type it all out. The same as typing this but whatever.) looked after her.  
  
"I wonder what happened," Rae said, sounding concerned.  
  
"I don't know," Sirius said quietly. "I'll go see if she's all right." He stood up.  
  
"I thought you hated her," James said slyly, but Sirius ignored him. He had seen something in her eyes: pain, that cry, something happened.  
  
He quickly walked out of the hall after taking a few last bites of his dinner.  
  
He first went into the common room. Walking up into the girl's dormitories, he realized that she wasn't there. Where could she be? Outside? She's talked before about how she felt at peace outside.  
  
He started toward the door to the grounds.  
  
Ev ran outside, intending to get onto the top of the tower again-, which she did. Not even the pouring rain stopped her. Once up there she gazed at the grounds hundreds of feet below her.  
  
Tears poured down her face, mingling with the sweet rain. Ev couldn't even enjoy the rain. She loved rain. Summer rain. When it's warm out and yet the rain in pouring. You can hear the water dropping onto the leaves and the air is clear. Winter rains. Just coming down, straight and wet and cold. She loved em both.  
  
But now she was disheartened. Depressed. Life just did too much with this young girl. She was sixteen, just sixteen. How could she know the things she knew? See the things she saw?  
  
Ev slid down the parapet that surrounded the tower, sitting on the concrete ground with the cool rain pouring onto it. Her clothes were quickly getting soaked through.  
  
With a sigh Ev slid her cloak off her shoulders. Dejectedly, her arms fell limply to her sides. After a second, she started to undo the buttons on her black shirt and slid this off her shoulders, too. Then she slid the white shirt from underneath off and slowly stood up to take off her blue jeans.  
  
Everard was left in just her black bra and panties.  
  
She thought about the letter and fresh tears poured down her face.  
  
Feeling bile come up her throat, she leaned over the edge of the parapet and let out her dinner. 


	8. And The TruthDoesn't Set You Free

Review! Please!  
  
And The Truth.Doesn't Set You Free  
  
Ev lay there in a heap, the cold concrete numbing her skin.  
  
Singing a song that still brought tears to her eyes, she closed her eyes.  
  
"I dreamed I went to heaven You were there with me We walked upon the streets of gold Beside the crystal sea We heard the angels singing Then someone called your name You turned and saw this young man And he was smiling as he came And he said, "Friend you may not know me now." And then he said, "but wait You used to teach my Sunday school When I was only eight And every week you would say a prayer Before the class would start And one day when you said that prayer I asked Jesus in my heart."  
  
Thank you for giving to the Lord I am a life that was changed Thank you for giving to the Lord I am so glad you gave  
  
Then another man stood before you And said remember the time A missionary came to your church And his pictures made you cry You didn't have much money But you gave it anyway Jesus took the gift you gave And that's why I'm here today  
  
Thank you for giving to the Lord I am a life that was changed Thank you for giving to the Lord I am so glad you gave  
  
One by one they came Far as the eyes could see Each life somehow touched By your generosity Little things that you had done Sacrifices made Unnoticed on the earth In heaven now proclaimed  
  
And I know that up in heaven You're not supposed to cry But I am almost sure There were tears in your eyes As Jesus took your hand And you stood before the Lord He said my child look around you The great is your reward  
  
Thank you for giving to the Lord I am a life that was changed Thank you for giving to the Lord I am so glad you gave  
  
I am so glad you gave." (Corny isn't it to have her singing, but I like the song. Ray Boltz.)  
  
Finishing, Ev closed her eyes, rolling onto her back and feeling the water slide down her body.  
  
She stood up, gazing at the grounds, which were cloaked in fog.  
  
Meanwhile, Sirius was looking for Ev still. Suddenly, looking up, he saw her up on the tallest tower, looking to the ground.  
  
How'd she get there? He wondered.  
  
Mentally shrugging, he went to the Quidditch hut and grabbed a broom. Not wanting her to run away, or fly away, he flew around the back.  
  
He dodged among the rain droplets and landed quietly on the concrete of the tower. After setting down his broom he saw that, oh would you look at that, Ev had once again stripped of her clothes. Why did she keep doing this? Was she trying to hurt him?  
  
Trying not to get excited, Sirius walked quietly and slowly up to her. When he was close to her she slowly pulled her foot up and placed it on the wall surrounding the tower. In the process she gave Sirius a good butt shot. God, Dayum. Okay, calm down, Sirius. Woo. Okay.  
  
By now Ev was standing all the way up on the parapet. She hung her head back and Sirius quickly jumped down so she wouldn't see him, but her eyes were closed. Sirius sighed in relief. He wanted to see what she was doing before he revealed himself.  
  
Ev ruined his plans. "I know you're there, Sirius." She pulled her head up and didn't look at him.  
  
"Right," Sirius said, getting up and standing a few feet behind her. "What's wro-" he started to say, but Ev cut him off.  
  
Spreading her arms out, she musingly said, "I wonder what would happen if I jumped. It sometimes seems like it would be so easy. Jump: die. Stab: die. Shoot: die. Weakness: Us. It'd be so easy for me to end it all." She chuckled slightly, and regretfully. "I could go to heaven. Maybe not, but what does it really matter." Now she was speaking in an urgent voice. "You'd be dead. Eventually you'd accept hell. Even if it was a millennium before it happened, what does it matter in the face of eternity? You'd take it. You wouldn't mind. The hurt would be constant and you wouldn't have to worry about the ups and downs of this shithole we call life. I think I could deal with it. Yep, I could." She nodded her head and leaned forward to fix her eyes on at the ground hundreds of feet below. "The sweet release of death," Ev muttered, sounding to Sirius a little too calm for his liking. She leaned farther forward.  
  
Suddenly, Sirius, not liking how far out Ev was leaning, grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back.  
  
Ev didn't struggle, just stood there with his arms around her waist. Finally he let go and she sunk down to the ground. Tears streamed down her face as Sirius squatted down next to her.  
  
"What are we? Are we friends? Even if we aren't.what would you do if I told you something? Something I've never told anyone, not really. What if what I told you, made you see me totally differently? In a worse way? Would you think less of me? If I told you of my past, would you take it to the grave? Not feel sorry for me? I hate it when people feel sorry for me. I mean, what'd they do to me? Nothing, I answer myself." Ev rambled.  
  
"Ev!" Sirius exclaimed, "Shut up!"  
  
Ev looked at him, not listening to his comment.  
  
"I'm gonna tell you something, okay? And if you ever tell anyone without my sanction, I will slaughter you. Seriously. I would hunt you down and kill you. I wouldn't even hide it, okay? I mean, your.your insides, would become your outsides. Your entrails would become your extrails. I would.pain, lots of pain." Ev choked on her words, her eyes flashing at him.  
  
Sirius just stared at her, jerking his head around to stare at her hands which were waving about.  
  
"O-okay," Sirius butted in.  
  
Ev nodded and started her story. "I've said before that I'm an orphan, I think. When I either two or three my mother abandoned me. You have no idea what's it like. It's hard to trust someone after that. You're always waiting for the next person to leave. Anyway, I don't know where my father was. In jail I think. But, ummm, I was moved around to several different homes but they never worked out. I stayed at two separate homes for the longest, 2 years at each but each time I was moved. Finally I was adopted by a man who wanted a child, of course he couldn't have one himself; he wasn't married. I was eleven." Ev looked down at her shaking hands.  
  
Holding up his finger for her to stop, Sirius stood up and retrieved Ev's clothes, placing her cloak around her shoulders and allowing her to sit on her pants and shirt. He nodded at her to continue.  
  
Ev smiled dourly. "At first, everything went fine. I had learned to go with the flow. Not get used to anyplace for I would eventually move. So I just soaked in having a home. He was nice at first. He went to work. I went to school. He'd pick me up and we'd hang out so he could 'get to know me'. But one day, well, he lost his job. I don't know why, I mean, I was only eleven and slightly introverted. He took to the bottle then. Apparently he had been a drunk, but he'd been on the wagon for about six years, but he fell off and stayed off. He'd get drunk and pass out or make a fool of himself somewhere and get thrown out. I remember, I was home one day, when he walked in, three sheets to the wind. He got mad at me for not cleaning up the house, and so, for the first time, he hit me. Again, I didn't know what to do, only eleven."  
  
Ev gazed at him as if looking for agreement. Sirius just took her quivering hands in his and waited for her to go on.  
  
Ev took a breath to compose herself and charged on with her account  
  
"He hit me a lot then. Never totally bad, but enough to bruise. I was never battered on the face and no issues were raised from the teachers. I went to a wizard's school in America, but I came home every day after school. Anyway, it happened for a couple months. Then he did something worse."  
  
Ev looked down at her and Sirius' hands, intertwined. Abruptly, she pulled her hand away. A tear rolled down her face.  
  
"He, umm, abused me in another way. Sexually," Ev whispered. (TRUST ME THERE WILL BE NO DETAILS SO DON"T STOP READING) Sirius put a hand to his mouth.  
  
Ev plowed on. "He did it more than once. I don't even remember the first time. Not every night though. Sometimes he'd just pass out. Then I'd go out and walk, miles, running. Or I'd go to the beach and lay there, even in the cold.  
  
"It ended when I was fourteen. This I remember distinctly. He came home, drunk as usual, and he started walking towards me. I knew he was going to do it again. I don't know why I didn't fight back. By then I was weak, in spirit as well as in body from the thrashings. He hit me a couple of times, a really hard one in the face, right on the eye. I fell down and he was on top of me, getting ready to do it. He was kissing my neck and suddenly a power surged through me, coursed through my veins. My hands, suddenly claws came out of the knuckles of my hands," Ev held her hands up and suddenly claws did come out of her knuckles. She ran the tips lightly across her face. Sirius' eyes widened and his mouth fell open.  
  
"I didn't question what had happened, I just shoved them into his back. There was a total look of shock on his face." Ev smiled slightly to herself. "He took his last breath on top of me."  
  
"You killed him?" Sirius asked for clarification.  
  
Ev nodded, not looking at him. "After that I was numb everywhere. I pushed him off me and went to the kitchen sink to wash his blood off my hands. The claws just went back in then. At that time I picked up the phone," here Sirius looked confused but didn't say anything, "I called the police, told them I'd killed my father. They were there in the next ten minutes. When they found me, I was eating a sandwich."  
  
Ev looked at Sirius, stared at his eyes. She needed to finish but she didn't know if she could.  
  
"I was taken to jail for a couple nights. They came and talked to me, asked me questions. I had a trial for murder. I got off for self-defense. When they asked me if I had somewhere to go, I just said yes. But I didn't though. The trial had taken about a month. It was in the beginning of the summer, two years ago. That's when I realized that I, ummm, I might be pregnant."  
  
What a turn of events, Sirius thought.  
  
"Anyway, I was sleeping in a hotel. A shabby one for very little money, trying to figure out where to go. It was there that.well, some people came to tell me who I was. They were X-men." At Sirius' questioning look she held up a finger. "Apparently, I am an X-men or man or whatever. It first starts in your early teens. An X-men has like, superhuman powers, kind of like magic. Each one can do certain things. But I can do all of them. Isn't that funny?" Ev smiled at him. "The first X-man had all of the powers himself. I am the thousandth descendant of him. Apparently his powers skip every 1000 generations, so I have all of them. Anyway, the X-men who came to tell me, well their names were Wolverine, Rogue, and Storm. Wolverine had that power, kind of like a wolf, with the claws. Rogue could take anyone's powers by touching them. Storm could, well, basically change the weather. Anyway, they took me to their headquarters, a big castle that was used as a school for all sorts of X-men that had been cast out by their families."  
  
Ev stopped and took a deep breath. "That's where I found out I was pregnant. At first I was depressed, but Rogue, who I became friends with, made me see this as a good thing. It was something good out of that pain that had been my life. So, I decided to have my baby. So for the next eight months, I stayed there and learned to use my powers. When the baby came, a doctor came to the school and I had the baby there. Afterwards," Ev sighed, "I knew I had to give it up. I was only fifteen and not fit to be a parent. So eventually I gave the baby up for adoption. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I did the same thing to my daughter that my mother did to me. I abandoned her. I went to my next year of wizard's schooling there, flooing back to the castle after every day. All the while I learned as much as I could about my powers. Then, at the end of the year, during the summer, I realized that I had to be slightly on my own. I needed to get away from it all if I could. I moved to the first plane flight I could afford, England. I moved in with Vila, a professor and we became friends. I got a job. Got fired from one. I was just waiting for Hogwarts to start. I figured once I got here, I could be different. Have friends and not have my past follow me. But, I have dreams about it, and when I wake up I feel dirty. I wasn't ever going to tell anyone. But, I, uhh, I got a letter, about, well about something that shouldn't have sent me over the deep end, but it did. They sold the house. It was a nice house. I get the money. But I don't want the money," Ev burst out with vehemence. "I think I'll just give it to a charity," Ev added quietly.  
  
"Are you okay, now," Sirius said once she had finished.  
  
"Yes, I am." Ev cracked her neck, "You know, I don't regret it, killing him. If he had lived and I saw him, I would've just killed him with my bare hands and never looked back. Even now, I'm glad I did it. I want him to rot."  
  
There was a silence in which the wind whipped Ev's hair around and Sirius wondered why she wasn't freezing.  
  
Unable to stand it any longer, Sirius asked, "What kind of powers do you have?"  
  
Ev smirked. "Really wanna know? Follow me." She stood up and jumped over the parapet. Sirius gasped and leaned over it only to see...... Ev flying? She grinned at him, grabbed his hand, and hauled him over with her. "I'm transferring my flying powers to you so you can fly, too."  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now you know her secret.  
  
Please review! I need reviews.  
  
The next chapter will show some of her X-men powers. 


	9. Amazement, Astonishment, and Admiration

Amazement, Astonishment, and Admiration  
  
Sirius realized he was not getting his cloak back when he saw Ev button it up.  
  
They were in a clearing in the middle of the Forbidden Forest. For some reason Ev didn't seem concerned about this. Sirius though kept throwing nervous glances over his shoulder.  
  
"Would you stop!" Ev finally commanded.  
  
She stood in front of him and suddenly the claws came out from her knuckles. "I think we're safe," she said somewhat arrogantly. But there was no denying it-she could kick anyone's ass.  
  
Sirius nodded.  
  
"So, what do you want to see?" Ev asked, raising her eyebrow.  
  
"You make it sound dirty," Sirius said exasperatedly.  
  
"No I didn't. You interpreted it that way."  
  
"Just, do something." Sirius snapped.  
  
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk," Ev reprimanded and promptly turned invisible. Sirius gasped- especially when she appeared behind him with claws against his cheek.  
  
"Stop that!" Sirius said pushing away from her. "Do something else."  
  
Ev nodded slyly and reached over, grasping the skin of his arm in a tight grip. Suddenly Sirius felt pain shoot up his arm and a yelp escaped his lips. Ev let go and he dropped to his knees. "What the hell was that?!" Sirius yelled.  
  
"One of my powers," Ev replied. "I was taking your power-your magic-. So don't piss me off. Kay?  
  
"What else can you do?"  
  
"Well, I can control the weather. Whaddaya want? Snow, sunshine, clouds?"  
  
"Let's try somethin' dry," Sirius said pointedly.  
  
Ev nodded. "Right," She let out her breath in a loud gust and closed her eyes. Opening them, they glowed a misty white and Sirius gasped. Suddenly the clouds slowly started rolling away, gaining speed. Slowly, the blue sky was revealed and the sun came out. The small clearing was basked in the warm glow of the sun.  
  
Ev lowered her hands and grinned slyly, looking at the shocked expression on Sirius' face. "Holy shit." He finally said slowly. "That'll come in useful." He nodded, affirming what he said. "What else you got?"  
  
Ev smiled. The next thing Sirius knew Ev was doing some sort of Chinese martial arts fighting move; very complicated and very fast. Ev finished with a double back flip. "Okay, that's cool."  
  
Next Ev shape shifted, turning green. "Whoa!" Sirius exclaimed.  
  
Ev showed him a couple of her powers and then they started walking back to the school, taking a trail Ev had found.  
  
"So what's the deal with these X-Men?" Sirius questioned.  
  
"What do you mean?" Ev replied, shrugging.  
  
"What do they do?"  
  
"They..they live. Like you, like me. They just have these powers. Just like you have magic and muggles have none. They're no different." Ev said slowly.  
  
"How many schools do they have for X-Men?" Sirius inquired.  
  
"One," Ev supplied. Sirius looked at her when she said this. "There aren't many X-Men," Ev started to explain. "Some people are, but they don't reveal it to others. So they live normally. Others, who reveal their powers when they learn of them, as teens, most of their family disowns them. So they come to the school. The good X-Men go and find them and take them to the schools."  
  
"What do you mean 'good X-Men'?" Sirius wondered.  
  
"Right now a silent war is raging between X-Men: those who want to live in peace with muggles and those who want to destroy all of humanity, excluding X-Men of course. Right now it's all about gaining X-Men recruits and, if possible human recruits to fight for our cause. One day though, one day it'll all end in war. Hopefully, we'll prevail. Otherwise all humans, anyone who's not a 'mutant' will die." Ev nodded after she finished.  
  
Sirius was silent for a minute. Suddenly he spoke, "That's deep stuff. Hope you win that one."  
  
Ev glanced at him and grinned. "Yeah, me too."  
  
They continued to walk.  
  
"Are we friends?" Sirius asked out of the blue.  
  
Ev looked sideways at him. "Maybe," She answered slowly, and almost questioningly.  
  
They both stopped and looked at each other for a second.  
  
"Don't tell anyone," they both said in unison, and laughed, continuing their trek to the school.  
  
"So, don't, umm, . . . please don't tell anyone, you know anything I told." Ev said uncomfortably.  
  
"Sure," Sirius said quickly, "of course, I'd never tell."  
  
"Good," Ev replied. "Cause if you did, I'd be forced to kill you. And as you know, I don't hesitate."  
  
Ev paled slightly and Ev grinned.  
  
The trees began to thin as they neared the edge of the forest.  
  
"So how'd you find that place back there?" Sirius wondered.  
  
"I go there to think a lot. In the middle of the night you know? After I have dreams I can't sleep, so I go somewhere to think. Sometimes I need fresh air to breathe so I come out here."  
  
"Can I ask, um, why umm. . ." Sirius trailed off. Ev stopped and looked at him, waiting for him to finish.  
  
"What? Spit it out."  
  
Sirius smiled vaguely. "Why are you. . . the way you are?"  
  
"I don't understand what you mean." Ev said, raising her eyebrow- the one with a ring in it.  
  
"You know, all tough and rude and. . . you know, with the leather jacket. . . and sarcasm or cynicism, you scorn everything, you know. . . you have the tattoos and the ring and I mean, why are you so. . . bitchy!" The final word burst out after he had rambled on painfully. Ev grinned at his antics.  
  
"Cynicism," she said aloud as if trying the word out. She nodded and turned to continue walking, with Sirius following, "I like that." She laughed. "What exactly does it mean to have cynicism?" She directed this comment at Sirius.  
  
He faltered for a moment, then answered, "I guess it means pessimism, distrust, skepticism. . ."  
  
Ev nodded with finality, then grinned evilly. "That is so me." She smiled at him.  
  
"Why?" Sirius asked persistently.  
  
"Well, I don't know. Could you expect to come out of such a situation as I have and not have a certain amount of pessimism, I ask myself. . . Hell no, I answer myself. Plus, I guess I've always been this way. I'm still fun aren't I. I don't bring the party down so to speak do I?'  
  
"No, but you're always being so witty and sarcastic, with those comments you always have quick as a flash."  
  
"I don't know. Guess it's a gift," Ev said loftily, and Sirius looked at her saying 'you proved my point'. "Okay," she continued thoughtfully, "I'm not acting that way. It's me, so yeah. I'm kind of proud of it actually. As for, you know, the, umm, rings, and the uhh, yeah, the uh, leather, and the um, you know, tattoos," here Ev looked at him after artfully imitating his tongue-tied behavior from earlier. He glared at her and she continued, a light in her eyes. "Okay, the leather. I wear it cause I like it; simple as that. The ring in my eyebrow, like it too. It makes me look dangerous. As for the tattoos, like I said, my 'cry for help'. Though, I just liked them to tell the truth. Dragons have always interested me. I thought the Chinese symbol was cool. They also make me seem dangerous," Ev waggled her eyebrows dangerously at him and Sirius smirked at her.  
  
"Besides, with the sarcasm thing, you are too you know?" Ev added.  
  
"Not as much though. You're quicker with it than I am." Sirius reminded her.  
  
"That's true," Ev said in a fake pompous way. "By the way, I enjoy tooting my own horn."  
  
Sirius laughed as they finally reached the end of the Forbidden Forest.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sorry it took so long and that this is so short. Review. Please. Tell me if you like it or whatever.  
  
I haven't done a disclaimer, don't know if I need to, but are we kidding ourselves? We all know I didn't create these characters or setting; except Ev and all her behavior. So there. That good enough? 


	10. A Nice Run In the Evening

A Nice Run In the Evening By the way, so no one is confused. Ev had her baby when she was fourteen. Her baby's birthday is in March. Ev is sixteen now. Her baby will be 3 on her next birthday. You'll learn the baby's name in later chapters. I have to find the perfect name for her. So, ON WITH THE CHAPTER! :)) Double chin boy!! Anyway.  
  
Ev woke up early on Saturday to get in a workout. She put on her gray workout tank top and black sweatpants.  
  
She put on her headphones (know you can't have stuff like that but work with me here!) and walked out the door of the entrance hall.  
  
She started running, quietly humming to herself 'Pickup Man' by Alan Jackson, as the sun was just barely rising, leaving the sky a white-blue. There was a fog around the castle and dew still clung heavily to the grass, making Ev slip a couple of times and leaving the front of her pants slightly wet.  
  
"I met all my wives in traffic jams . . ." she sang softly to herself but eventually stopped when she had to concentrate on breathing.  
  
After running around the whole castle three times, and with a fine sheen of sweat on her face and back, Ev stopped by the lake.  
  
The water looked appealing to her so she turned around and headed to the Forbidden Forest. Walking along the path she knew, she leisurely made her way to the small clear lake.  
  
She jumped in, clothes still on. "Ahhhh," she said when she resurfaced. (she seems to get half naked a lot so I kept her clothes on). She cracked her neck and then slowly slid under the water. The cool, almost freezing water (hello, it's November), felt good on her body. Looking down at herself, she saw that she was pink from the cold.  
  
She made her way out of the water and started to walk on the path when she realized something. Hitting herself on the forehead, she grinned. She closed her eyes and concentrated and when she opened them she was in her dormitory, in the bathroom to be exact. She took a warm shower to rid herself of the cold then walked out into her now empty dormitory. The other girls had left for breakfast a little while a go, she supposed.  
  
She opened her trunk and pulled out a pair of faded blue jeans, underclothing, and a green tank top that showed the outline of two dragons breathing fire at each other. She dressed and grabbed her leather jacket as she walked out the door.  
  
She made her way down to the hall, whispering to herself the words to 'At the Foot of the Cross,' by Ray Boltz. (Listen to that song. It's great."  
  
Ev strolled into the Great Hall and made her way to her table.  
  
The others were already eating.  
  
As she sat down Rae, Lily, and Ara all looked at her accusingly.  
  
"It's about time you got up." Ara said irreverently.  
  
"Yeah, when we left you were still sleeping." Lily added slowly.  
  
"Well, you obviously didn't look. I got up 3 hours before any of you lazy asses hauled out of bed."  
  
"Where were you?" inquired Sirius in a apprehensive tone.  
  
Ev looked at him weirdly, as if he should know. When she realized he didn't, she said, "Working out." Sirius looked relieved. "Oh, in the weight room." "No, I went for a run. And sustained a nasty bruise on my knee when I slipped," she added sourly.  
  
"Ready to go?" "What? Where?" "Hogsmeade!" Sirius exclaimed to Ev in a shocked voice. "Where?" Ev questioned. Sirius took a deep breath as if to calm him. "The all wizard town of Hogsmeade," he said slowly. "Oh, ok." Ev replied as if she knew what he was talking about.  
  
Holy hell, Ev thought for the tenth time that day, staring around her. They were at the Honeydukes. Talk about a sweet tooth. It was a wonder these wizards were able to walk through a door.  
  
The walls were lined with shelves stocked full of sweets, every kind of candy you could think of; from the disgusting, Cockroach Clusters, to the hidden ones, Sugar Quills.  
  
"Holy hell," Ev said again, this time out loud.  
  
Remus, James, Lily, and Rae grinned at the mingled expression of awe and shock on her face.  
  
"Pretty cool, huh?" Sirius asked, sucking on the end of a quill from his bag. A disgusted look formed on his face and he spat into a garbage can, black inky spit coming out. He choked slightly then reached into his bag and brought out another quill. Sticking his tongue lightly against it as a test, his face lit up and he stuck the whole tip in.  
  
He only realized people were watching when he heard the loud laughs of Lily, Ara, Ev, and Rae, all giggling. The guys were doing a pretty good job of not laughing too much, although a snort did suddenly leave Remus' mouth for no apparent reason, since his face was perfectly calm.  
  
"Hey look!" Peter suddenly exclaimed, walking toward a large display of the new blood flavored lollipops. He immediately bought a large pack of twenty, giving one to the guys- the girls refused to taste them- and opening two and stuffing them in his mouth (fat ass! Okay I'm all right).  
  
The group of friends then strolled the rest of the town, delighting in the gasps that the sights elicited.  
  
It was as they were walking that it started to snow. After it got too cold, the large group trouped into The Three Broomsticks, where they all ordered a butterbeer.  
  
"What's a butterbeer exactly?" Ev asked, after the drinks were delivered, hating the fact that she sounded almost as stupid as the people she waited on who didn't know what a hot dog was (cough! Sirius cough!).  
  
James also thought so too. "'What's a butterbeer?" he said loudly, "What's a butterbeer!" His voice turned high pitched and squeaky.  
  
"How could you not know what a butterbeer is?! It's THE drink. . ." he rambled.  
  
"Okay, Potter, only dogs can hear you now." Ev interrupted his rant.  
  
James stopped and grinned. "Just try it," he said calmly, sliding her's to her.  
  
"Alrighty." She placed it to her lips, aware all the while of everyone's eyes on her, like they were waiting to see her verdict on a murder case.  
  
She gulped and set the drink down. "It's good I guess. Just not the same as real beer."  
  
Everyone looked at her, wondering what that meant.  
  
"Just kidding, I've never had beer." Ev grinned and took another gulp of her drink. They weren't sure she was telling the truth.  
  
Lily, sitting next to James and Rae, snorted, some of her drink coming out of her mouth. Everyone else guffawed at this and the laughter turned into an uproar.  
  
Ara, across from Lily, had just said something very shocking, especially since they were in the presence of boys.  
  
"What did you say?" Lily asked loudly, and in a rather shocked voice.  
  
"I said that I think my breasts are too big." Ara replied, annoyed.  
  
The guys merely lifted up their eyebrows and looked at her chest.  
  
"Stop it!" she yelled.  
  
"We're just trying to determine if you were telling the truth." Remus, next to Ara and across from James, said innocently.  
  
"Right," Ara snorted under her breath.  
  
Peter, next to Sirius, who was across from Rae, interrupted, "I don't think there's really such a thing as too large breasts, if you want my opinion."  
  
"We don't," Ev said, beside Rae.  
  
Everyone chuckled and Peter look affronted. Ev grinned at him in apology and he kicked her from his place across her.  
  
The other guys were still contemplating Ara's boobies. Even Rae and Lily were now gazing at them in reflection.  
  
Sirius snapped them out of this reverie when he said vaguely, "Peter's right." He looked at the other 3 girls who were now looking at him. "Though, I think I'll have to feel them all to compare." He leaned over the table, reaching out his hand as if he was going to cup Ev's breast.  
  
Ev quickly grabbed his hand and twisted. "Ow, ow, ow!" He howled.  
  
"That's right," Ev snapped, throwing his hand back.  
  
Sirius looked at her appreciatively. "Rough one, aren't yah?" he said suggestively.  
  
Ev stared at him, shocked that he'd made any reference to that. Sirius must have noticed the look of pain in his eyes, for he immediately looked sorry.  
  
Ev, who was squashed into the large booth and seated next to the window, rubbed her shoulder uncomfortably and looked out the window.  
  
Meanwhile, the conversation between everyone else had turned to something else. The guys were now talking about how they hated their butts and the fact that they weren't hard enough.  
  
"It's just so flabby. I mean, it doesn't get the girls like it used to, you know." James said, showing his butt to everyone by standing up and pointing it toward them.  
  
No one escaped the look that Lily gave his ass- one of provocation and admiration.  
  
Rae giggled and elbowed her, whispering, "Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, eyebrow, eyebrow." She demonstrated all these things to her. Lily promptly turned an impressive shade of red.  
  
James shook his butt at everyone. "See."  
  
Ev joined the attention-grabbing conversation, albeit a weird one, by saying, "That's cause you don't ever work out."  
  
"I do too, I play Quidditch."  
  
"That's not a sport," Ev said brusquely.  
  
James, obviously insulted, turned red and the others had to pull him back as he moved to lunge at an unsuspecting Ev- supposedly. As his hand grabbed her shoulder, she whipped to face him, grabbing his arm vigorously and pushing him back with all her might. The others let go of him because he suddenly went flying about five feet and landed with a painfully loud noise on the hard floor.  
  
James emitted a very low groan and everyone but Ev and Sirius ran to him to see if he was all right.  
  
Pretty soon a group had formed around all of them to see what had happened.  
  
Everyone looked very worried and Ev knew they blamed her. Her suspicions were confirmed when Lily glared at her and cried, "Why the hell did you do that? What were you thinking?"  
  
Sirius looked at Ev and saw her open her mouth helplessly then close it. Her eyes darted about the room as if she was looking for an escape route.  
  
She felt everyone's eyes on her, knew that they knew she had done it. Standing on the booth seat, Ev awkwardly climber over it, right to where the door was.  
  
She saw James look up at her, still trying to catch his breath and gain feeling in his back, where he had landed, but the next thing she knew she was running through the town, toward the school far away in the misty distance.  
  
Her feet crunched over the snow that had fallen the night before and was still falling. If she hadn't been so haunted by all that she was leaving behind her, she might have realized that the scene surrounding her was the definition of beautiful.  
  
The sky was silver gray and the snow was the kind that seemed to go in slow motion. The flakes, they were huge and snow fell onto her head as she continued to sprint toward the castle that was miles away.  
  
The ground glittered in the way fresh snow does.  
  
Several minutes later Ev was sprinting through the Forbidden Forest, sharply jumping and turning so as not to hit trees. She knew no one was following her.  
  
As she reached the outskirts of the forest where it began to thin, the trees had filled with snow and there was about a foot of snow.  
  
When Ev opened up the doors to the Entrance Hall, icy hot tears stung her eyes but they did not fall.  
  
And as she finally reached her common room and finally her dorm, Ev was basically convinced that all of her friends thought of her as a monster.  
  
She sat there for a moment but then reached a decision and grabbed another cloak, since she had left her other one at The Three Broomsticks. She knew where she was going.  
  
////lots of reviews please//// I'm on a writing spree to catch up, so the next one will be up soon. 


	11. Time for the truth

Time for the Truth  
  
People please review. It gives me warm fuzzy feelings of happiness! ( I appreciate all those who have. ))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))  
  
Ev woke up with a start, sitting straight up. She immediately felt a spasm of pain in her neck and shoulders and back and. . . everywhere. Probably from her choice of sleeping arrangements.  
  
Ev cricked her neck and felt the familiar crack that made her instantly feel better. She looked around the room she was in. The room of requirement. Ah, the room of requirement. One would have thought she would have just simply conjured a large comfy bed. Nope, not Ev.  
  
After working out for hours into the night, Ev had finally just stopped and laid on the floor, where she had apparently fallen into a dead sleep.  
  
She looked down at herself. She was still wearing her workout clothes and there was a smell of sweat that hung around her.  
  
She thought about a shower and, lo and behold, one appeared behind her. After getting in, she turned it as hot as she could stand and let the hot water slide down her back. Never one to really dawdle, the shower only took about ten minutes.  
  
She dried off as best she could, then summoned up some clothes, blue jeans, a white tank top, underclothes, of course, shoes and socks, and a light blue over shirt. She then sat down at the bench where she had lifted weights.  
  
A sigh escaped her mouth.  
  
What am I going to do? They're going to think I'm a freak. And I am, I had accidentally hurt someone. Remus was so lucky, she thought, he only has to worry about this once a month. I always have to worry about if someone catches me by surprise. Heck, I could have accidentally killed James had I not been restricted so much by where I was. Am I crazy?  
  
Ev groaned, resting her head in her hands and resting her elbows on her knees. Sane people don't question their sanity do they?  
  
Ev groaned and stretched out on her back.  
  
"You gotta stop this, girl," she told herself. "If you're not careful, you might not kill someone at all this year."  
  
She closed her eyes, resting her arm across her forehead.  
  
And this is how Sirius found her, in her state of quiescence. She was humming softly to herself.  
  
"It think we should all run away from school and our friends. It'll be anarchy!" Sirius said.  
  
Ev snapped up from her position, her claws out, ready for anything. When she saw Sirius, she relaxed slightly. "Oh, it's you."  
  
"What? I don't pose a threat?" Sirius said sounding hurt, and a little sarcastic.  
  
"I was expecting you eventually."  
  
Sirius nodded and sat down in a comfy chair. "So . . ."  
  
"What did I do to him?" Ev asked quietly, facing away from him.  
  
He sighed and answered, "You broke his tail bone. Broke his hand. And we believe you cracked a couple of ribs. He says it hurts when he breathes."  
  
"Oh, God!" Ev moaned, rubbing her face and plopping once again down on the bench. "What are they saying?"  
  
"Mostly questions. Wondering why you did it. They know I know something." Sirius added.  
  
"Do they think I'm some sort of freak?"  
  
"If you're asking for the truth . . . yes they do. They believe you did it on purpose."  
  
There was a weighty pause.  
  
"Ev, what was that yesterday? I saw the look in your eyes. They were red. Why? Did you mean to?"  
  
Ev waited before answering and when she didn't, left Sirius with even more questions. "It t'was instinct. I'm like some sort of machine. I have powers of which I have no idea. Some of them make me do things I don't mean to. Mostly I can hold them back. You just can't surprise me too much or I freak."  
  
Sirius nodded as if he fully understood, or as if she could see.  
  
"You shouldn't have run. You should have stayed to explain."  
  
Ev laughed bitterly. "And what, have them accuse me of attacking him?" She whipped around to face him. "I've seen the way they treat us. X-Men. Just because we have something they don't we are always at fault. In their eyes we are not human."  
  
Sirius looked at her and laughed. Ev was first taken aback, but then her face showed anger. "I don't mean to laugh, but you sound just like Remus."  
  
"Remus is different. It only happens to him once a month, the rest of the time he can control it, himself."  
  
Sirius stopped laughing, standing up to at her. "That's not how he'd see it. He thought we'd hate him for being what he was. But, just like you, it wasn't his fault. Shit happens. You are an X-Men and he is a werewolf. That's how life works. I'm sure if they knew about you, they wouldn't think anything about it. Just another thing to deal with. Not a huge matter of importance. Although they would think twice about touching you when you least expect it." He added thoughtfully, rubbing his chin.  
  
Ev smiled slightly and suddenly walked quickly forward. She wrapped her arms around his stomach, leaning on him and muttering, "Thank you."  
  
Sirius was slightly shocked, but then put his arms around her shoulders, her warm shoulders. "No problem," he stated.  
  
Ev pulled back suddenly and Sirius threw up his hands, thinking she was going to hurt him for touching her or something.  
  
Ev just smiled slightly and shook her head. He lowered his hands, feeling like a bumbling fool.  
  
"I want to tell them." Ev whispered. "Everything."  
  
"Are you sure?" Sirius said after a moment's thought.  
  
"Mmm hmmm."  
  
"When?"  
  
"Tonight, and I want you to do it. I don't think I can handle it again."  
  
Sirius opened his mouth. "No. No, no, no, no, NO. No way in hell am I going to do it. Never."  
  
"Please," Ev whimpered, putting on a sad puppy dog face.  
  
"Welllll, I don't know."  
  
"Please, I am asking you."  
  
"Fine, but not tonight. I need time to think about how to tell them. Jesus, how did you tell me? I can't believe you're making me do this. Bitch!" Sirius burst out.  
  
Ev was unruffled. "Next Saturday, then. Alright?"  
  
Sirius nodded mutely.  
  
As he and Ev walked back to the common room, a calm silence staying between them, Sirius thought, What the hell am I doing?  
  
Meanwhile Ev was thinking, What the fuck did I do?  
  
And as she was thinking this, Sirius' thoughts had strayed to Ev. She is so amazing and strong; to be willing to tell them everything. He sneaked a peek at her. She is so pretty too. I'm probably not the first to notice.  
  
He watched her walk. Her over shirt was open, revealing the white tank top underneath, which showed just enough skin to convince Sirius that she did not stuff and was indeed quite strong. She had what you'd call a six-pack. The flat muscled stomach of someone who didn't sit home on a beanbag chair, naked, eating Chocolate Frogs. Ev walked on in her long smooth strides. Her neck was one of the things he had noticed also. So strong looking. Long, but not too long. When she turned her neck just slightly, the strings and muscles flexed. The bones of neck stuck out as Ev cracked her neck with a groan. Beautiful; just the skin of her. So tan and smooth.  
  
Plus, she was so different than other girls he had dated. Most of the girls he had dated, whenever faced with the chance of wearing something other than their uniforms, which weren't very sexy or feminine, chose skirts and dresses, or at least tight pants and other slutty clothes.  
  
Not Ev. Not only had she walked right up to the headmaster and demanded that she wear Muggle clothes all the time, but she was more of a tough girl than the others he knew. Sirius couldn't picture her wearing a dress and giggling, not even anything other than jeans. And he had seen those low riders that made butts look huge. Those weren't for Ev. She was all natural, natural faded jeans, and even though she wore shirts that showed the skin of her stomach and neck, it never seemed slutty, just gorgeous. She didn't seem to shellac her face with makeup. She slouched, swore, was hilarious, beat people up, and was not afraid to say anything on her mind.  
  
And her hair. So dark brown you could call it black. Long enough to reach the middle of her back. It looked so smooth. Her face was so tan and her eyebrows so dark. Her lips were a pinkish color he had never seen. She was definitely stunning, at least in his eyes. If he was to make her laugh or grin, it would make his day.  
  
He liked that she was tough and hardcore, but in some ways she was more vulnerable than other people he knew. Sirius had never heard a story like Ev's. So much had happened to her but she stayed strong. Her life was full of disaster and death and disappointments, and yet she held it in so well.  
  
Still, Sirius thought that the fact that she held stuff back and refused to really cry or be emotional was one of her faults. If you looked at her eyes, closely, you could see they were full of pain and her eyes looked ringed with the sadness of her past.  
  
Sirius knew all that he could about her from what she had told him, he had studied her from the day she had told him. But he had no idea how he felt about her. Sometimes he thought it was just a close friendship from the fact that she had told only him of her past, others he thought it was more. Like when she'd look at him after making a joke or teasing someone, and her eyes would be lit with mirth and mischief. It was these moments that made Sirius want her to be more to him than friends.  
  
What the hell am I doing? He thought again. 


	12. Discussions, Shocks, Gasps, oh the Horro...

Discussions, Shocks, Gasps, oh the Horror  
  
The next week went by slowly, with Sirius still contemplating his feelings and Ev every once in a while thinking she just might have a nervous breakdown before Sirius told them.  
  
They had both agreed that Ev wouldn't really talk with the others until the day he would tell. Well, they partly agreed but most of it was the fact that James avoided her like the plague and the others didn't talk to her, even if they were around each other.  
  
Which they were, since Sirius still hung out with them and Ev talked to him. They sat in silence at the meals and when doing homework. Not one word was said between Ev and James, Rae, Lily, Remus, Peter, and Ara.  
  
When Ev thought she couldn't take it anymore, Friday had come and tomorrow would be the day.  
  
Ev lay silently in her bed, staring at the window, as the other girls whispered about the upcoming Quidditch match. Ev was feeling particularly lonesome because James and Sirius had been practicing for the aforementioned match whenever possible so Ev had no one to speak to.  
  
When it was around two o'clock and she was still awake while her roommates breathing had turned to the slow rhythmic breathing of the sound asleep, Ev resolutely stood up. She went to the bathroom, and then she walked out of her dormitory and walked slowly to the boys, making sure before walking in that she heard snoring.  
  
Ev slowly opened the door and tiptoed into the room, her bare feet making a padded noise on the cold stone floor.  
  
She peeked inconspicuously around the hangings around every bed until she finally found Sirius' near the window. She was surprised to see him with his eyes opened and he was just surprised to see her, if the way his eyes widened was any indication.  
  
Pulling all of her courage together, Ev walked to the bed and pulled back the red covers. She jerked her head for Sirius to move, and once he did, she slowly slid into the bed.  
  
She lay on her side facing him while he lay on his back, which was bare considering he wore no shirt.  
  
Sirius turned his head to look at her. "What are you doing in here?"  
  
Ev smiled ruefully, "I couldn't sleep. I'm nervous about tomorrow. What are we gonna do?"  
  
Sirius sighed and Ev snuggled in closer to him. She draped her left arm across his chest.  
  
Sirius moved her body so that he could position his left arm under her neck, and then allowed her to get comfortable.  
  
"I'm nervous too," he said softly, "I'm going over how to tell them."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Sirius moved his right arm outside the hangings of his bed and grabbed his wand, muttering the silencing charm around them so as not to wake the others.  
  
"Can I sleep in here with you?" Ev asked suddenly.  
  
Thank god for darkness, Sirius thought, hoping that Ev couldn't see him blush. "Sure, if you want," he replied carefully.  
  
"Wonder what the others are gonna think, if they find us in here," he added. A slow grin graced Ev's face and Sirius thought he might die. He'd put that on her face.  
  
Ev sat up and reached for the hem of her tank top. She quickly pulled it off and lay down in her earlier position. Sirius gulped.  
  
"What are you doing?" Sirius was disappointed in himself when he heard his voice squeak.  
  
"Giving them something to talk about. I hate idle gossip. There has to be at least some truth behind it, and believe me there will be rumors, why not give them a real reason to tell everyone?" Ev nestled closer to Sirius' chest. He heaved a sigh and placed his hand on her back.  
  
"Why are you wearing a bra?" he asked, realizing she was.  
  
"For a moment just like this I guess." Ev grinned up at him, he face near his neck.  
  
Sirius looked down, and found himself staring into her eyes longer than he planned.  
  
Ev took a deep breath. "I . . .you . . .screw it."  
  
She scooted herself up so that her head was next to his, their heads facing each other.  
  
Suddenly, she leaned to him; her head above his now and his flat on is pillow. Her lips pressed to his in a deep kiss. All of her sadness and loneliness was put in that kiss and she felt herself get happier with each second the kiss lasted, which was probably only 8 seconds.  
  
They both pulled back and went to the previous position of Ev lying on his arm. What happened? they were both thinking.  
  
Ev's left arm, once more draped across his upper body, stretched further and she pulled him closer, sighing contentedly when she got comfortable. Sirius also found himself quite comfortable. Still, he turned red when he first noticed that one of Ev's breasts was crushed against his left side while the other was 'resting' on his chest. Ev didn't seem to mind, for she gave a satisfied sigh, causing shivers to run down Sirius' body. After several minutes, Ev was breathing deeply and Sirius' arm was asleep, but he didn't want to move it, didn't want Ev to wake up or move. He fell asleep holding Ev safe and sound in his arms.  
  
"What the hell!" a voice whispered hoarsely.  
  
There was a rustling as the hangings were pulled back from Sirius' bed.  
  
"Weeelll!" the voice of James said.  
  
"It's about time." Remus said calmly.  
  
"Look at that! They must have had a wild night. They look tired." Remus observed.  
  
"I can't believe he got her before I got Lily," James said, sounding disappointed.  
  
"You are such a pig," Peter stated.  
  
"Am not!" James exclaimed.  
  
Ev and Sirius' eyes opened at the same exact moment and they realized they were in the exact position Sirius had predicted. They listened as the others continued to make lewd comments and obvious innuendos about them.  
  
"You are such a . . ." James said hotly.  
  
They obviously were not watching the two 'lovebirds', because the next time they looked up, the two of them were sitting back, leaning against the headboard, their arms folded across their chests. Amused smiles were on their faces and their eyebrows were lifted quirkily.  
  
"A . . ." Ev said lightly, gesturing for him to continue.  
  
It was now James, Remus, and Peter's turn to smile ironically and cross their arms. The looked at the two people whom sharing a bed together.  
  
"So," Remus said suggestively.  
  
"Yes, what did happen here last night?"  
  
"Was it wild? There was probably no talking was there? You were just rooting around, baby! How long did it last?" James was obviously the biggest pig in the world. They all waited until he finished. Which was a long time. Finally he stopped.  
  
He looked around sheepishly.  
  
Remus turned once again to the two on the bed. "So, you're not friends. I'd like to see what the hell you do to your friends, let alone someone you date." Sirius and Ev rolled their eyes as the others snorted with laughter.  
  
Ev threw back the blankets and pushed herself out of bed. Sirius just stayed where he was, his arms crossed behind his head.  
  
She put her hands on her hips as all the eyes in the room turned to, lets just say not her face. Ev slouched in exasperation. "Yo, pervy boys, up here!" She waved her arms in front of their faces and they abruptly jerked their faces up to look at her. She turned her gaze on James, who had come out of the hospital wing at the beginning of the week. "So, you talking to me?"  
  
James stared at her. "No, I'm talking to your breasts and Sirius, I don't speak to you. I don't talk to bitches who hit me for no reason when I least expect it, or whores who don't even ask for money."  
  
"I am not a whore!" Ev said violently. Remus distinctly saw her temple throb and a vein was showing in her neck.  
  
"Oh, please! Your legs spread like peanut butter!"  
  
"That's it!" Sirius finally broke in, jumping out of the bed to stand between James and Ev. "I will not tolerate you calling her that!" he yelled at Sirius. He turned to Ev, "And you, calm down."  
  
Ev breathed deeply, something Remus and Peter, who were just watching, slightly amused, greatly appreciated.  
  
"Now," Sirius said evenly, holding his finger up to James, "nothing happened last night."  
  
"That's right," Ev yelled, leaning forward from behind Sirius.  
  
Sirius whipped his head around to her. "Ev please! You're not helping. Now . . .come on, I'm trying fix . . . you know . . .this." He said this in a quiet, urgent voice. He whipped around once again. "Today, certain . . . events will be revealed and you . . .might change your mind. Ev was just feeling bad and she came in here because she couldn't sleep, nor could I. We talked about how this would look tomorrow, so Ev, as ridiculous as it seems, took off her shirt . . .to, uh, give it reason. Shame she was wearing a bra really. . ." Ev smacked his shoulder and he continued, " Anyway, ask her to explain it, I didn't really get it. And nothing and I repeat nothing, happened between us last night. Just wait until nine o'clock tonight, I'll tell you something and then you can talk about Ev. All right?"  
  
James, very much confused, just nodded mutely.  
  
))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((  
(((((((((((((((  
  
Ev and Sirius, now alone since the boys had left, looked at each other in disbelief.  
  
"Alrighty then," Ev muttered, slipping her shirt on.  
  
"Yeah," Sirius breathed, "intense."  
  
Now both fully clothed they looked at each other, embarrassed about the night before.  
  
"So, see ya later," Ev walked by him, giving him thumbs up.  
  
"Sure," Sirius replied as she left.  
  
She popped her head in. "Remember, you tell them, then bring them into the forest where I'll be waiting."  
  
*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()* ()*()*()*()*Hours later . . .  
  
Ev knocked loudly on the door to Dumbledore's office.  
  
"Come in, Everard." He answered.  
  
"Yo, Double D." Ev sauntered in and plopped down on a chair. "You asked to see me."  
  
"Yes, Everard, you see, I just wanted to tell you that instead of sneaking in through the front doors when you come back to the school tonight, I could give you an alternative route. We don't want you getting in trouble do we?"  
  
Ev's eyes widened. "Umm, what?" she asked, pretending to be innocent.  
  
"I know what you plan on doing. And if you insist on doing it outside, I'd like to give you a surefire way of entering the school. However, you could fly everyone in, but that is not entirely safe. So," here Dumbledore grabbed a paper off the desk and handed it to Ev, "a map. That is a map of the entire school grounds and the castle. It shows where the residents of the whole school are at all times. It could help when in a sticky situation." Dumbledore looked at her over his spectacles.  
  
"How did you know? I mean, how did you know!" Ev stood up angrily.  
  
"Everard, I am not bragging, I do try to stay humble, but it is difficult. I know everything that goes on in my school. Did you know Tracy Puddleman and Tim Drogon broke up two hours ago?" He smiled at her.  
  
Ev plopped down in her chair and looked at the map in her hands. "Well, then thanks, I guess."  
  
"No thanks needed, Everard. I just would like to ensure your safety, and the others of course."  
  
Ev smiled, "Yeah."  
  
"And keep," Dumbledore added, "give it to your four guy friends. Something tells me they could use it for when they go on their midnight escapades, traumatizing the other students, that is."  
  
"Okay," Ev replied laughing.  
  
"I call it the Marauder's Map. And again, no thanks required. I would like a new pair of mittens for Christmas though." Dumbledore smiled at her comfortably.  
  
"Of course Double D."  
  
"I'm sure I won't see you in here for once again hurting another student," Dumbledore said to her as she stood up.  
  
Ev grinned. "I ain't promising anything." Over the last week, Ev had been in here quite a few times. Her nerves had been on end and a couple of people had had the misfortune of getting in her path.  
  
When she had come, after the long lecture about how wrong she had been, Dumbledore had told her that he knew of her past. It was customary to look into new students records before they were admitted into the school. Of course, Ev's sad and sometimes wild past had been in those records.  
  
Ev had begun to think of Dumbledore as somewhat of a grandfather like figure. She was quite amused by his dry wit and humor and Dumbledore thought of her as a granddaughter in some ways. He knew deep down that she was a nice person, her temper just sometimes got the better of her.  
  
Ev nodded her head at him and walked out of the room.  
  
"Holy shit! Cool!" Sirius yelled when Ev showed him the map.  
  
"It's yours now." Ev told him. Sirius stared at her. "Use it tonight."  
  
He nodded, "All right. You should leave now, they're about to get here so I can tell them. I'll, uh, take them into the forest when planned."  
  
Ev nodded nervously. She turned to walk out of the room. Sirius grabbed her hand before she left.  
  
"I wanted to ask you about last night. The, umm, kiss," Sirius coughed awkwardly, "Did it mean something to you?"  
  
Ev opened her mouth, and then closed it. Finally she said, "Well, did it mean anything to you?"  
  
"I asked first." Sirius said.  
  
"Yeah, well, I asked second," Ev retorted.  
  
Sirius sighed and looked at her. "Not really, no. I was just kissing you back, you did start it."  
  
Ev nodded wordlessly.  
  
"I was just trying to comfort you, you now? Because you felt bad and I was feeling sorry for you. I'm sorry I took advantage of that."  
  
Ev nodded once again. "Okay," she said, falsely happy. "Good, cause I was just feeling vulnerable. I think that is why I kissed you. Won't happen again." She turned to the door again, then added, "But don't pity me." Then she was gone.  
  
Was that true, what you said? Sirius asked himself.  
  
It was. He just wanted to be friends. Didn't want to ruin their newfound friendship with the whole dating thing. What you did was right, he told himself.  
  
He didn't wait long until James, Remus, Peter, Ara, Lily, and Rae entered the room.  
  
"Hey guys," Sirius said wearily. Why the hell was he doing this again.  
  
The others just nodded. James was still mad about that morning and the others had no idea what was going on.  
  
"I have to tell you something about Ev," Sirius said quietly, sitting down on a chair. The others sat down as well. "I don't want interruptions and I just want you to listen so, here goes. When Ev was born . . ." Sirius plunged into the story as the others listened.  
  
&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^ &^  
  
Ev sat down at a large rock beside the small lake in the clearing in the Forbidden Forest. She trailed her fingers in the water.  
  
Why the fuck am I doing this again?  
  
Ev laid her back upon the rock, resting her legs out in front of her. Her dark hair trailed in the water, floating lightly on top.  
  
'I was just comforting you,' he had said. Even now it stung. That wasn't why Ev thought he had done it. She thought he had felt something for her. Of course, she was wrong. It had only been pity, him thinking she needed some fucking male comfort in her time of need. Well, screw him. Although, he had been right. Ev had started the kiss. He had just kissed back. Why had she done it? She had lied when saying it was because she felt vulnerable. She hadn't, and she never let herself be, or at least tried not too. She had kissed him because she wanted. She had feelings for him. No she didn't. Yes she did.  
  
She liked him for the way he was. After she had told him, he had not showed her any pity: until the kiss. Maybe friendship was for the best. Ev made a noise of assent to these thoughts in her throat. Yes, they would be friends.  
  
There was a crackling noise in the woods surrounding Ev. The noise of a twig breaking under someone's foot.  
  
Ev snapped her head up. They couldn't be here yet. When she saw what she did, she gasped.  
  
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()  
  
Sirius had finished his story in a quick half hour. The others had not interrupted. At first there had been skeptical noises coming from them, but as he continued the girls had given collective gasps when they heard something they did not want to hear, things that made them realize Ev had been through a lot.  
  
James and Peter had both looked shook up by hearing these things, things they did not know of.  
  
Remus, knowing how Ev had felt when it came to being an X-Men, had been silent through the whole story. He had one fist against his lips, and was looking off into the distance.  
  
Sirius finished by saying this, "Ev doesn't want you guys feeling sorry for her. She wants to be friends, she doesn't welcome pity believe me. Just treat her normal after this."  
  
Remus nodded and the others followed suit.  
  
Sirius had explained as best he could about what had happened when Ev hurt James. They all seemed to explain. He looked at the girls, who were all holding hands. Tears were streaming down their faces at what had happened to Ev.  
  
"She doesn't want that," Sirius bereaved. They all instantly tried to stop.  
  
"Okay, so we don't' say anything about knowing, even though she knows we know?" Remus asked.  
  
"Exactly, sort of. She wants us to meet her in the forest. She knows of a clearing, it's quite nice, and quite safe with her there if you get my meaning." Sirius stood up to leave.  
  
"The forest!" The girls exclaimed. The guys too looked slightly scared, but they all had the safety of their Animagus forms.  
  
"Yes, the forest, let's go." Sirius opened the door and walked out.  
  
The guys followed him and the girls came reluctantly after. Apparently, James did not see his window of opportunity open up, the one in which he could be a gentleman and soothe Lily.  
  
They used the map to safely exit Hogwarts and walked along the path Ev had showed Sirius.  
  
)()()()( )()()()( )()()()( )()()()( )()()()( )()()()( )()()()( )()()()( )()()()( )()()()( )()()()( )()()()( )()()()(  
  
"Here we are."  
  
The seven friends walked into the clearing.  
  
Everyone gasped, Sirius included and Ev included.  
  
)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) Guess what happened. Ten thousand points to who gets it.  
  
Please review. I'd very much like it.  
  
Next chapter up soon. 


	13. Late Night Conversations

Late Night Conversations  
  
Everyone stared, wide-eyed, at the sight before him or her.  
  
Ev stood, her claws once more extracted and hanging limply by her side. Her eyes turned from the cloudy red they had been and quickly turned human again, and this time green. Were her eyes always green? Ah well.  
  
In front of Ev, lying in a heap was some sort of animal. It looked like a wolf, but was much larger. It was most obviously dead, if the amount of blood covering it had any say. And Ev had obviously killed it, if the blood dripping down her arms and the claws had any say.  
  
Ev looked slightly worse for wear, but seemed in okay health. A long cut ran down one arm and something had hit her face, because a delicate trickle of blood had run down the left side of her face from a sizeable cut. She picked up the animal and disappeared with it, only to reappear without it. Ev took a deep breath, prepared for what might come.  
  
. . . . . . .  
  
. . . . . . .  
  
Nothing came.  
  
"Hi," Ev finally said, when she thought she might go crazy from the heavy silence.  
  
The others just barely nodded in answer, too scared to speak. Sirius however walked closer to her.  
  
"What happened?" he whispered.  
  
Ev walked past him, straight to the small lake, where she bend over and began to wash off the blood that covered a vast portion of her body. She first let the blood rinse off of her claws, which then retracted.  
  
Sirius bent next to her, waiting for her response.  
  
Ev sighed in exasperation, realizing that the blood would not be coming off so easily. She stood up and dived quickly into the lake, which, considering it was now December was probably freezing. She came up with slight shiver and sighed, finally answering Sirius. "It attacked me, suddenly. I wasn't expecting it. It was a pretty quick fight, and the next thing I knew it was dead on the ground and you guys came walking up."  
  
She was silent as she rubbed off all traces of the blood. "You tell 'em?" She whispered.  
  
"Yeah, yeah I did. I, um, told them you don't want sympathy."  
  
Ev nodded distractedly. "Okay," she looked at him and grinned weakly. "Let's do this."  
  
She disappeared only to reappear a second later next to the lake with a towel and a blanket.  
  
"It is convenient, you gotta give it that," she said to Sirius, as the others looked on in shock of what happened.  
  
They grinned at each other and turned to the group of people gaping at them.  
  
"What's up?" Ev asked, when no one said anything. No one answered.  
  
Sirius let out his breath gustily. "Come on, you guys. Wake up. It's still Ev."  
  
Everyone shook their heads as if to clear them. Remus was the first to speak. "Soooo," he said stupidly. "Does it hurt?"  
  
"Does what hurt?" Ev responded to clarify.  
  
"When you, with the claws, when they come out." Remus spluttered.  
  
"A little bit every time, yeah." Ev answered.  
  
"What else can you do?" James asked in a scared voice.  
  
"I could kill you just by looking into your eyes," Ev answered, staring at him. James quickly jumped and averted his eyes to Lily. Ev laughed loudly. He turned around angrily at her.  
  
"You're lying," he accused.  
  
"Yeah, I was. Just a little X humor." Ev grinned. She quickly sobered. "I could kill you, if I wanted. It'd take but ten seconds of touching your arm or using any of my powers. They can be used for good or for evil, you see."  
  
Ara now spoke, leaning over to whisper loudly in Remus' ear. "Remind me never to get on her bad side."  
  
There were chuckles and suddenly Ev was laughing outright. She strode over to Ara and wrapped her arms around her.  
  
"Thank you so much," she whispered. For some reason she was felling slightly vulnerable right now, having to reveal stuff about herself that she had planned on keeping a secret.  
  
Ara hugged her back and Remus put a hand on Ev's back, reassuring her.  
  
Still standing by the lake, Sirius grinned and walked up to them.  
  
Ev pulled back finally, accidentally ramming her back into Sirius. "Ouch, mother!" he gasped, rubbing his chest where she had hit.  
  
Ev turned to him. "Sorry," she said, laughing as she held him close too. He hugged her back, like Ara ignoring the fact that she was still very much wet.  
  
They heard James go, "Aww, I think I feel a group hug coming on." He walked around Sirius and stood behind him, wrapping his arms around his neck and laying his head on Sirius' shoulder. He closed his eyes and put a contented look on his face, squeezing Sirius as the others laughed.  
  
Everyone cried, "Group hug!" at the same time and all surrounded Sirius, James and Ev in a large hug.  
  
After a moment, Ev and Sirius both simultaneously pushed out and left the large cluster, brushing themselves off as if they had been tainted. "That is so undignified," Sirius said, scolding, shaking his head in a mock disgusted manner. Ev nodded her head in agreement.  
  
"What would people say?" she said, sounding scandalized. Everyone laughed.  
()()()()()  
  
The group of now friends sat in the kitchen, joking and laughing. They were all feasting on a large selection of ice creams, pies, and cakes. Ev and Sirius once again had their ice cream with no bakes on it. They had the pot with the chocolaty substance sitting in front of them so they could add more anytime they wanted.  
  
"You know, Ev, we don't really know that much about you? Other than you know, your past." Remus spluttered as he finished this sentence, turning white.  
  
Ev grinned at him. "Well I don't know that much about you guys either. So all's fair." She took a large bite of ice cream, squeaking slightly when she realized that Sirius had been reaching for the no bakes. His arm was now trapped between the hand holding the spoon in her mouth. He laughed and tapped his fingers until Ev finally pulled the spoon from her mouth, thus releasing his arm. He scooped a large goop of no bakes into his bowl, grinning the whole time.  
  
"Even if I were to die right now," he said dreamily, "I'd die happy." He scooped ice cream closer to his mouth, although most of it was chocolate. Ev reached over, pushing the spoon quickly and causing the ice cream to fall off onto the table instead of the direct target of Sirius' mouth. Sirius groaned and faked crying as the others laughed.  
  
"I have an idea," lily said excitedly. "Let's take some food into the Room of Requirement. Once we enter," she added mysteriously, "we have to answer all questions asked of us truthfully."  
  
The others rolled their eyes at her dramatics, but agreed.  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
"So," Peter piped up from his pouf in the circle they had all created. "Who goes first?"  
  
"Oh, I will, I will," Ara screamed like a child, bouncing on her knees on her pouf. Remus grinned at her. "Okay, here goes. Remus, boxers or briefs?"  
  
The girls giggled uncontrollably and the guys, excluding Remus, joined in.  
  
"Boxers," he stated calmly, raising his eyebrows at Ara suggestively. She rolled her eyes at him, turning red. "My turn," Remus pointed at Rae, "what is your middle name? You never want to tell us and it kills me."  
  
"No, I don't want to tell," Rae moaned childishly.  
  
"You have to," they all chorused.  
  
"Fine," Rae said angrily, muttering under her breath, "It's Dairine."  
  
"Dairine," James said as if deciding if she was worthy of the name. "All right. How come you never wanted to tell us?"  
  
Rae groaned, rubbing her temple. "It means 'fertile'." She groaned as the others laughed.  
  
"All right, shut it!" she finally yelled, "Okay, Lily what is your middle name?" Rae grinned, knowing the answer but knowing that Lily hated it.  
  
Lily glared. "It's Alcyone."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Alcyone, al-see-oh-nee."  
  
"And where did you get your middle name?" Ara questioned.  
  
"My parents got it from the name in Greek mythology and it is also a name of a star in the constellation Taurus. How stupid!" She blurted at the end.  
  
"Hey, hey, hey!" Sirius said disapprovingly, "and what in the hell is wrong with a name from the stars. It's very respectable. Heck, I'm named after the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major," the boy added proudly.  
  
"You know, he's right. It's very reputable," Ev said sincerely, "My middle name, Adharah, is after the second brightest star in Canis Major."  
  
"Ha!" Sirius exclaimed, "Second! I'm first!" He raised his fist in triumph. Ev, from her position next to him, merely reached out her arm and gave him a good push, causing him to fall off his pouf. "Doesn't matter," he said, rising, "I'm still first. Nothing you can say changes that."  
  
Ev rolled her eyes.  
  
"So, Ev," Sirius said airily, "you say you speak every language. Can you show us one of these languages?"  
  
"Sure," Ev said and then stopped.  
  
"Well go on," Sirius prodded.  
  
"I just showed you English, what do you want from me?" Ev said, grinning.  
  
"Something other than English," James said, through gritted his teeth.  
  
"Fine," Ev said flippantly, "Here goes. Lle naa haran e' nausalle." She spoke the words softly, rhythmically, and fluently. Her tongue made a purring noise on the 'r.'  
  
Eyebrows rose around the room and Rae and Sirius spoke at the same time. "What does that mean?"  
  
Ev grinned. "You are king in your imagination." She looked pointedly at Sirius.  
  
"Phfe," he said, waving his hand at her in dismissal of what she was implying.  
  
"What language was that?" Remus questioned, leaning forward and sounding interested.  
  
"Middle Earth Elvish."  
  
"Middle Earth, like Lord of the Rings?" Rae spluttered. Ev nodded. "I love Lord of the Rings. But Middle Earth doesn't exist and only geeks speak that language. The ones who stare at pictures of Legolas and fondle themselves. I don't think that's you."  
  
"No it isn't," Ev said with fervor. "However, Elvish is still a language. Tolkien made it decidedly so by making a full language out of it."  
  
"It sounds really cool," James spoke.  
  
"Yeah, well it is cool."  
  
"What bra size do you wear?" James questioned suddenly to Lily. He gazed at the other girls as well. "All of you."  
  
"I'm not telling you that!" Lily screeched, covering her arms over her chest and feeling quite uncomfortable. Ara, Rae, and Ev were doing different variations of the same thing, Rae holding a pillow to her chest.  
  
"Yeah," Rae said defiantly, "Hell will freeze over before you know that tidbit."  
  
"Excuse me," Remus said politely, "but can I quote someone? 'We have to answer all questions asked of us truthfully." He looked at Lily, who looked disconcerted, complacently.  
  
"You know," James said slowly and thoughtfully, "having seen Ev in her bra more than once, I am a little curious as to how big her twins are." He looked at Ev and grinned roguishly.  
  
The girls all groaned. "Fine," Ara said bitterly, "but we go from biggest to smallest." She looked at Lily, "Go ahead."  
  
Lily spluttered. "What? These little things? There's nothing there." Her eyes fluttered around the room looking for an escape as she said, "Actually, I sometimes stuff."  
  
"Your bra would still be the biggest," Peter pointed out in a rare moment of intellect.  
  
Lily groaned. "Dammit. Fine!" She mumbled something incoherent.  
  
"What?" Sirius said, putting his hand to his ear.  
  
Lily gave him a death glare. "32 D."  
  
"Hmmm," James mused, staring at her chest, at which Lily promptly crossed her arms again. He grinned and looked at the others. "Who's next?"  
  
"38 C," Ev then told them, rolling her eyes when the boys once again stared at her bosom.  
  
"34 C," Ara said, seemingly unabashed.  
  
"22 C," Rae said, turning red with embarrassment at the fact that hers were so small.  
  
Remus grinned at her and whispered so only she could hear, "Guys don't care how big they are, they just like boobs."  
  
Rae grinned at him in turn and said loudly so everyone could hear, "Well, that may be true, but size matters to girls." She gave him a sympathetic look. "Good luck."  
  
The girls burst into laughter while the boys looked troubled. What if what Rae said was true?  
  
"Are you a virgin?" Sirius piped up maliciously, staring at Ara. She gasped and turned white.  
  
"What are you talking about?" she muttered quickly.  
  
"Mike," Sirius said softly, causing any color in Ara's face to drain.  
  
"Waiiiit a minute," James cut in, "Are we talking about Mike the Plant Guy here?"  
  
Sirius looked at him and grinned. "From what I hear, he is quiiiiite easy. Not as easy, however, as our dear Ara. What would her mother say?" He shook his head in mock repulsion.  
  
"I can't believe you did it with Mike the Plant Guy!" Lily shouted at Ara.  
  
"Yeah, Mike the Plant Guy, is like so beneath you," Rae reprimanded her.  
  
"Mike the Plant Guy is with a different girl every night and you let him touch you?" Peter piped up.  
  
Ev looked at Remus and was glad to see he was just as confused.  
  
She leaned over to him. "Mike the Plant Guy. What does that mean? Does he garden, lay false evidence, or he just have something fake inside of him?" Remus shrugged.  
  
Ara was currently covering her head, screaming as the others asked questions.  
  
"Shut UP! Yes, okay, yes." Ara finally screeched.  
  
"When?" James said interestedly.  
  
Ara moaned and groaned then said, "At the end of fifth year. Just after Dad died."  
  
The room immediately quieted and everyone became somber.  
  
Ev spoke first. "Your dad died? How?"  
  
Ara smiled contritely. "Voldemort," she whispered with loathing in her voice.  
  
"Who?" Ev spoke.  
  
Everyone whipped around to stare at her.  
  
"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, You-Know-Who, the evil Dark Lord who's trying to kill off all Muggleborn and anyone who's not a pureblood."  
  
"Oh," Ev breathed, "that Voldemort. Never heard of him, but I get the most of it now: evil, trying to rid wizarding world of muggles, ya da, ya da, ya da, the whole wazoo."  
  
"Do you miss your dad?" Ev added, looking at Ara.  
  
Ara shook her head in sad amusement. She glared at Ev. "Of course, I miss my dad." She spat at her. "Nobody wants their dad to die. No one dances around and laughs at the death of their father." A single tear ran down her face.  
  
Ev looked at her and then looked off into the distance, her eyes glazed over, remembering something. "Some people do." She shook her head to clear it and glanced at Sirius before gazing at Ara again. "Some people want their fathers to die. Heck, I even got pleasure from in it." She smiled funnily before staring down to the floor.  
  
There was a weighty pause. Suddenly Ev laughed bitterly. "Ah the awkward silences. I never did get used to them." She looked around the room. "Let's change the subject."  
  
The new friends spent the rest of the night talking about anything and everything. Occasional questions about Ev's past were thrown in and there were several awkward silences, but they always got through them.  
  
Ev went to bed happily that night, and slept without a dream. She had friends and for a moment she forgot about all the bad things.  
  
((((((((((((((((((((((((()))))))))))))))))))))))) Awwwwww.  
  
Review! And PS. I had to throw in Lord of the Rings. The third movie was awesome. 


	14. In Which I Try To Skip Ahead Without Not...

Please review people. Tell me if you want something to happen. I need a couple of ideas. Sirius/Ev action to come soon, I promise. Review.  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own this as we all know. Yada yada, doodee doo, poopie!  
  
In Which I Try to Skip Ahead Without Notice  
  
The weeks passed, Ev's dreams came back but less frequently. She spent most of her time with her friends.  
  
Christmas passes too. The friends exchanged gifts of course. (no way I am coming up with what they all got).  
  
Ev woke up early one Thursday, hours before class was to start, ashamed with herself. She had put off working out for a while now. She poked her head out of the window in her dormitory and saw that it was a clear and cool day. Opting for a run, she put on sweatpants, running shoes, a gray tank top, and a very warm sweatshirt.  
  
She left her friends sleeping and ran outside, watching her breath flow away in clouds as she gasped. After running around the whole of Hogwarts four times with a couple brakes of sitting down and chugging from the water bottle she had taken with her, Ev realized she had no idea how late it was.  
  
Jumping up from where she sat by the lake, Ev sprinted all the way to the entrance hall. She was running past the Great Hall, only just realizing that her butt was wet from the snow, when she heard voices and laughter coming from there. She skidded to a halt realizing that breakfast had started already.  
  
Taking deep breaths she calmly walked into the hall and walked over to a seat next to Sirius. She gave a casual "Hey" before grabbing a plate of pancakes and putting two on her plate. She buttered them and put syrup on top.  
  
"And where have you been?" Ara asked her around a bite of a banana.  
  
"Running." Ev calmly replied. She reached over Sirius to grab a blueberry muffin, since Sirius was busy eating scrambled eggs. "I didn't realize I was so late."  
  
"Have you not showered or anything?" Lily asked, flabbergasted when Ev shook her head no. "Well, class starts right after breakfast, maybe you should go and get ready."  
  
"I will."  
  
Everyone ate quickly due to the fact that there was ten minutes left until class.  
  
As the whole hall stood up to head to their respective classes, Ev stood up and ducked under the table. Her friends all leaned down to see what in the world she was doing, only to see that she had disappeared.  
  
Sirius grinned. "Convenient, yeah. I'd like that."  
  
He and the others all headed to class.  
  
*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*  
  
Sirius, Remus, Lily, Ara, Peter, Rae, and James were all sitting in Potions, glancing at the door, hoping that Ev would burst through any second. Class was just about to start.  
  
The bell rang to signify the beginning of class and they all inwardly groaned. Ev was probably going to get detention.  
  
The teacher, Professor Pitstain as everyone called him (it was really Pitaine), had his back to the room as he wrote the days assignment on the board. They were to be brewing a Doxycide and bottling them. There had been a recent break in of Doxies and they caused such a ruckus that even Peeves was annoyed.  
  
Anyway, as the teacher wrote, Ev silently opened the door to the dungeon room, newly clothed in a pair of blue jeans, a green t-shirt with a dragon on it, and her leather jacket, praying it didn't creak. When it didn't she silently shut it and moved soundlessly across the floor to sit in her seat by Remus and Rae. Pitstain didn't even notice.  
  
The Slytherins, the class was having double potions with them today, all glared at her, but didn't say anything due to the pounding they would receive later.  
  
Evan Rosier had been sent to the hospital wing just the other day after he had accidentally on purpose rammed Ev in the hallway and caused her to drop all of her books, after which he called her a slut. He had been almost late to his class, and running, and since Ev and her friends were the only others in the hall, they had all told McGonagall that he had fallen after he ran to her. Having no proof that they were lying, McGonagall had given no punishment. McGonagall was watching Ev like a hawk though. Ev was under the impression that the professor wasn't very fond of her. She just shrugged it off.  
  
Remus and Ev were partnered up to make the potion. Sirius and James were together. Lily and Ara worked together, and Peter and Rae were together, much to Rae's chagrin (asshole! Whoo, I'm okay).  
  
"So . . ." Remus said to Ev as they waited for the cauldron to boil. Ev looked up from sanding the snake fangs she was grinding into a fine powder.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
Remus looked at her, bemusement evident in his face. "Uh, what's going on with you and Sirius?" he said carefully, vigilantly not looking into her eyes.  
  
Ev snapped her head to look at him, missing crushing her finger by a hair. "What do you mean?" She audibly gulped.  
  
Remus grinned at her obvious discomfort of this situation. "Well, you two seem mighty close. I mean, at first you did despise each other, did you not? And now, we found you sleeping in the same bed, you without a major piece of clothing on, and well him too. Plus, you did tell him your secret and, I don't know, but you two seem really close all of a sudden; joking around, your friendly banter thing, hugging him. There seems to be something going on." He checked the cauldron to see that it was not yet boiling. He looked at Ev to see her reaction. She was just standing there, staring at him, mouth open slightly. "And, um, he told us about the kiss and how he said it was just him comforting you. Which I suppose is true but do you agree with him? Was it nothing?" he added, avoiding her gaze more than ever.  
  
Ev gasped, shocked that Sirius had told about that kiss, something she still wondered about. She hadn't even mentioned anything to the girls. Ev just wasn't one to gossip about such things, especially when they involved her and especially when it made her want to pound on Sirius for a bit for being so stupid. She forced herself to keep her face calm and smooth, emotionless.  
  
Swallowing hard, she opened her mouth to say, "We're just friends, and that was all the kiss was."  
  
Remus chuckled amiably, "You are such a liar!" he gasped at her, his eyes crinkling in amusement at the blush that fell around Ev's face. "You have a crush on him." Remus said this as if he had just figured it out.  
  
"Noooo, no I don't." Ev felt her face turn warm with embarrassment. This made her angry. She was always the cool and prepared one for just about everything. She was supposed to make other people self-conscious, not the other way around. She sighed and saw Remus continue to laugh.  
  
Pitstain swooped on them. "What are you two doing?" he snapped at them. "Chit chatting?"  
  
"No sir," Remus answered, since Ev would rather punch him than call him 'sir', "we're just waiting for the cauldron to boil."  
  
"Well you can do it quietly, can't you?" the professor cracked, stalking away.  
  
Ev and Remus just rolled their eyes and continued to talk, though quieter this time.  
  
"Ev, you really do have a crush on him don't you?" Ev looked off to the side.  
  
"Maybe," she said slowly. Remus looked at her.  
  
"Maybe?"  
  
"Maybe."  
  
"You mean definitely?"  
  
"Maybe?"  
  
"Definitely?" Remus tried to get her admit to it.  
  
Ev eyes roamed across the room to Sirius. Sirius was holding the paper with the amounts of the ingredients to put into the brew. He read something, grabbed the asphodel leaves and started to count out. Suddenly he just grabbed a handful and threw them in. A pink steam rose off the potion, covering James' face in powder. Ev watched as Sirius and James laughed, Sirius leaning his head back.  
  
"Definitely," she whispered.  
  
Remus looked where she was looking. He turned back to the potion and threw in the fangs. "I knew it," he said indifferently.  
  
Ev turned back and hit him on the shoulder. He winced, rubbing it.  
  
"Don't even think of telling anyone, least of all Potter or Pettigrew. They can't keep their fat mouths shut." She turned to the cauldron and watched as a blue powdery substance rose to the top, just as it was supposed to.  
  
She grabbed a bottle and scooped some of the powder in. You could save the powder and add water later to use as a Doxycide, along with the potion in the bottom.  
  
"So, are you going to tell him?" Remus asked sensibly.  
  
"Hell no. And make him feel uncomfortable for not liking me back? Shit, I'd never do that." She put the stopper in the bottle and grabbed another.  
  
"So, what? You're just going to hide your feelings?" Remus muttered to her indignantly.  
  
"Yeah!" Ev snapped, "I will. Cause he's my first real friend and the first crush I've ever had. Ever! After everything that's happened to me, I didn't think that'd ever happen, dammit! I'm not gonna do anything, that way I don't risk getting hurt." She groaned heavily.  
  
"What?" Remus asked, clearly baffled.  
  
"Ugh!" Ev breathed. She turned to him and spoke slowly and clearly so his small brain would understand. "Remus, I never, and I mean never, thought that a time would come when I would even be able to think about dating or having a crush, let alone kissing someone. After . . . everything, I've realized that such things are a big deal. I don't want to ruin one of the first friendships I've had with a guy by starting to like him and making the mistake of telling him. If I did, do you know how awkward that'd be? There ain't no way on God's freaking green earth that I will tell him." Ev turned to the cauldron, "Besides, it's just a crush. I'll get over, I'm sure."  
  
Remus sighed and nodded, agreeing not to tell anyone of her feelings about Sirius.  
  
Meanwhile, Ev was busy thinking about how maybe she wouldn't get over it, ever. Sirius just made her feel so safe and secure. And not only that, but being with him was fun and he treated her like anyone else would. Her roommate had taken a while to get over it and treat her like normal. Ev just had so much fun with him, laughing and making fun of each other. He was just so great. Unfortunately for her, he didn't feel that way back. Damn him!  
  
///////////////// Reminder: Review.  
  
I'm on a writing roll; next one will be up soon. Thanks. And I will not post until I get ten more reviews. I don't care if the same person reviews ten times, just please give me ten. 


	15. Things Come About, Are Revealed, Secrets...

Okay, here's the deal: review. I'm trying to get chapters out, and right now my writer's block is gone.  
  
Review.  
  
Dis.: Don't own anything but Ev.  
  
Things Come About, are Revealed, Secrets Told  
  
More weeks flew by with nothing that was eventful happening. Pretty soon it was the week before Valentine's Day. As usual, according to Sirius, they had the fluffy little bear-like creatures scurrying around, delivering valentines to whomever was lucky enough to receive one.  
  
Remus, Ara, Sirius, James, and Lily all received one from somebody unknown. Rae and Ev both got one too, but they each knew it was a pity-valentine from one of the others. Peter also got one and seemed excited about it, even though Ev knew Remus sent it to him.  
  
James and Sirius however got swamped with valentines from their various admirers. Both of them grinned at each other every time they got one during class. It got so annoying to McGonagall that she materialized a mailbox outside of her class with their names on them. They grabbed all fifteen of them as they left class. Lily was obviously seething with jealousy and refused to look at anyone, she was so close to crying. Ev, new at this whole crush thing, wasn't jealous, so much as sad that he hadn't even thought of her.  
  
Screw it, she thought to herself as yet another valentine, this one fuchsia and smelling quite like vanilla, was delivered. As the delivery thing walked by, she contemplated kicking it in the ass on it's way out, but by the time she was resolved it was already gone.  
  
She had never really known that the two of them, James and Sirius, were so popular with the ladies. Remus knew she was getting mad because he kept glancing at her and smirking. She gave him a dour look and walked into the next class, Herbology.  
  
The class was cutting up the roots of ginger for use in a Wit-Sharpening Potion, Ev and Lily both glaring slightly when James and Sirius both got 3 valentines each.  
  
"So, Lily," Ara said slyly as she lay down on her bed before they went to sleep. "You seemed pretty mad that James got so many valentines. I wondered, were any of them from you?"  
  
Lily turned red and turned from the mirror where she had been brushing her hair. "No! Why would I send him a valentine?" she asked as casually as possible, which wasn't very.  
  
"Cause it's Valentine's Day," Rae pointed out logically.  
  
"And you know what, I think you looove him." Ara said childishly.  
  
"No, I don't." Lily snapped.  
  
"Yes you do!" Ara replied.  
  
"No."  
  
"Oh, just admit it!" Ara yelled.  
  
"Ohhh, I'm convinced!" Lily said sarcastically. She looked at Ara sourly.  
  
"You love him," Ara said matter-of-factly, as if hearing this would make it true, not that it wasn't. She turned to Rae and Ev, who were both watching with entertained looks on their faces. "Doesn't she?"  
  
Both girls pretended to think for a second. "Uhh, yes. Yes she does." Rae said comically, as Ev nodded drolly along with her.  
  
"Shut the hell up, both of you!" Lily shrieked, falling onto her bed in enragement.  
  
There was a silence as everyone stared at Lily thinking how stupid she was for not admitting it.  
  
Suddenly Lily sat straight up. "I do though," she whispered. "I really do. He's so great." She turned to Ev, pleadingly saying, "Ev, what should I do?"  
  
Ev backed up a step and said, "Um, I'm not good at the advice. Can I interest you in a sarcastic comment?"  
  
Ara, lying on her bed on her back now, leaned onto her side. "Well, I guess I can give you a little help, seeing how you're so desperate and everything." She tried to rub it in as much as possible.  
  
"Do this, go over, alright, and walk right into the boys dormitory. Walk straight up to James-" she continued.  
  
"What?" Lily interjected.  
  
"Listen do you want this or not?" Ara said, shaking her head. Lily nodded and Ara continued as the two other girls looked on with interest. "Go up to him, right up to him right? And kiss him." Lily gasped but she continued before she was once more interrupted. "Then just walk out." Ara showed this by sweeping her hand out in front of her. "Smoothly, coolly, calmly, and most importantly, in control." She raised her eyebrows, obviously proud of herself.  
  
Rae giggled at this and Ev smiled in pleasure of Lily cynical look.  
  
"I can't do that!" she managed to gasp out, covering her mouth with her hand.  
  
"Oh, come on," Ev finally spoke, "pretend, just for fun, to be daring and audacious alright!"  
  
"Audacious," Lily muttered.  
  
"Brave," Rae supplied.  
  
"I know what it means," Lily snapped.  
  
"Go on." Ara, Rae, and Ev all yelled after a moment of silence.  
  
Lily shook her head, looking petrified beyond belief. "I can't," was her whispered reply.  
  
"Listen, Lily," Ev countered, "you get your bony little ass out there right now and kiss James!" She pointed to the door.  
  
Lily stood up abruptly. "Okay, alright, I can do this." She walked to the door and opened it. As she walked out, Ara called out, "Don't forget to be poised and calm."  
  
"And sexy," Rae giggled out.  
  
"And show no trepidation." Ev added.  
  
"Oh, and don't French or anything, just give him a sweet kiss, something to mull things over about, okay?" Ara supplied.  
  
Lily popped her head in. "Do you want me not to do this?"  
  
Everyone shut up and let her leave. As soon as she was gone, they ran to the door and poked their heads out. Even Ev was interested in this.  
  
)())(()()(()(()(()())()()((()()(()()()()(()()()()()))()()))()()()())))()())) ))(()())(())(()()()()(())()))(O))()())))()  
  
Meanwhile in the boy dormitory, the boys had all been discussing James' not- so-recent crush on Lily.  
  
James was under the sad little impression that someone like Lily, who was so beautiful in his opinion, could never like him. Apparently the hundreds of valentines he had received had done nothing to boost his ego. It was weird really. He had once been really confident. He had once been a huge prankster, but Lily had turned him around. Not completely, mind you. They still pranked quite a bit. But the way he felt about Lily made him feel like a lost little boy and he was very clueless and vulnerable when it came to her.  
  
Remus and Sirius were sitting on the middle bed, Remus'. Peter was leaning on it from the floor between that bed and James' bed, which was to the right. James was sitting up, legs spread before him, on his bed with his back leaning against his pillow and his head against the headboard. He lay atop his covers and was feeling thoroughly depressed.  
  
About this time it happened.  
  
Lily opened up the door and sashayed in, gliding like an angel (or an eel. Hmm). She was the essence of peacefulness and serenity as she swayed towards James, wearing her white cotton pajama bottoms and a white cotton tank top.  
  
During this time no one spoke, wondering what was going on. It was silent even as Lily reached him and bent over. She placed her lips squarely and lightly against his. She didn't even touch him other than that. The kiss probably lasted only 5 seconds before she pulled back, turned around, and sauntered out of the room, slamming the door behind her.  
  
Once she was out of the room everyone gasped and James placed a finger to his lips, still feeling her lips against his own.  
  
"What the hell was that?" Sirius said before breaking out with the giggles.  
  
Remus just shook his head, puzzled, as Peter grinned like a schoolboy, which he is.  
  
James swallowed before saying, "What was that supposed to mean?"  
  
The three other boys looked at each other before Sirius groaned and said, "D'oh! That she totally likes you like you like her. Moron!" He rolled his eyes. "I thought I was supposed to be the dumb one."  
  
James gave a wheeze of anxiety. "Holy hell! What should I do?"  
  
There was a silence as everyone stared at James, cursing his stupidity.  
  
James quirked the side of his mouth, feeling uncomfortable. "Well?" he yelled suddenly.  
  
"Well, on a whim," Remus said mockingly, "I say that you go over there and kiss her back. Just like she did. No predetermination on her part. Just go kiss her and be calm and cool about it like she was." Remus leaned back smugly at his own idea.  
  
"There is no freaking way I can do that!" James appeared distressed at the very idea. "I'd be way to nervous to do that calmly. And with the other girls looking on? No way!"  
  
Sirius inclined his head back, rubbing his hands across his face in exasperation. Looking up to look at James he snapped, "James! Stop being a pansy. I'm sure Lily was also fucking nervous, but she managed to do it, didn't she. She's probably expecting it anyway. Just do it, okay!"  
  
James shook his head apprehensively.  
  
"Dammit, James. Do it! I mean, come on; strap on a pair!" Sirius harshly cracked at him.  
  
"Fine," James muttered. He stood up, rubbing his hands over his pajama bottoms nervously. "Even in my pajamas?" he asked before walking out the door.  
  
"Yes!" Remus, Sirius, and Peter yelled at him, waving him to the door as the girls had to Lily.  
  
"Okay," James muttered to himself tensely. "Yeah, I can do this; like they said, Lily's probably expecting it."  
  
She wasn't.  
  
((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((()))))))))))))))))))))))())))))))))))()))) )))))))))))))())))))))))))))))))))))))()))))()  
  
Girls' dormitory . . . . .  
  
"Oh my god!" Lily gushed. "It was perfect. I swear I love him!" She grinned like a lovesick fool.  
  
"His lips are so soft," she continued to spurt, "and he wasn't expecting it either. You could tell he was totally shocked. And I played it so well, if I do say so myself. I was the epitome of self-confidence."  
  
"So, are you gonna ask him out?" Ev wanted to know.  
  
Lily looked at her. "No. It's his turn to make a move. I started it, he finishes." She grinned, obviously thinking over the kiss.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ *^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
The girls were giggling when James walked in. Lily was laying on her back on her bed, looking to her right and laughing at something Ev had said. Everyone turned to him as he walked in.  
  
Lily's eyes widened as he advanced on her but she didn't move.  
  
Leaning down he placed his lips squarely on hers, pressing slightly. He rested his arms on either side of her, still only touching her with his lips.  
  
This kiss lasted longer than the other one, but as the other one, it had to end sometime. He pulled back reluctantly and was glad to hear her gasp delightfully.  
  
Keeping the solemn face he had worn on his way in, James strode toward the door and turned back to wink at Lily before walking out. The wink didn't quite work out because he'd never been able to wink, but Lily thought it was endearing and charming all the same.  
  
#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$  
  
"I did it!" James yelled. "And it was GOOD!" He grinned and plopped onto his bed.  
  
"You slip her the tongue!" said Sirius churlishly.  
  
"No, I respect her," James said airily amidst the snorts of his friends. He rounded on them. "What? I do!"  
  
"Riiiiight, and, yeah, that's nice. So ask her out." Commanded Remus.  
  
"Do I have to?" James whined, falling to his side. "I kissed her!"  
  
"After she made the first move," reminded Peter mockingly.  
  
"You know it's true," Sirius added, "Standard dating rules: girl makes first move, guy asks her out." He clapped his hands together and leaned back, thoroughly satisfied with himself.  
  
"How 'bout this?" proposed Remus, leaning forward. "Go kiss her again, then ask her out."  
  
Peter and Sirius nodded while James contemplated. "I get to kiss her again," he replied logically, "So why not?" He stood up, fully prepared to go and grab the bull by the horns, so to speak.  
  
He strolled out of the room, leaving the other boys with smirks on their faces mixed with puzzlement, and moved to head to Lily's dormitory.  
  
He abruptly stopped short when he saw Lily standing in the hall between his dorm and hers. She grinned weakly at him.  
  
"I was going to ask you out." Was James' muttered reply to her unspoken question. He turned bright red and looked down.  
  
"So was I." Lily grinned weakly. "So you aren't going to anymore?" she added.  
  
"Well . . . I . . ." he looked into Lily's green eyes and found himself unable to speak.  
  
"Yeah I know," Lily replied shakily.  
  
They both suddenly moved toward each other until there was only an inch between them. James ran his finger down her face and found he was kissing her. This time it was mutual.  
  
Lily gasped slightly against his lips and wrapped her arms around his neck. James put a hand on her upper back and one on her lower, pulling her to him.  
  
Lily felt his tongue and opened her mouth to meet it.  
  
They were so engrossed they didn't even feel six pairs of eyes on them from their respective dormitories.  
  
The six friends looked at each other around the couple that was making out and grinned at each other. They all retreated into their rooms and shut the doors, but not until Sirius gave a roguish wink at all of the girls.  
  
Ev felt her heart flutter but ignored it. She must have eaten some weird pie for dinner or something. She sighed before they lay down to sleep, the new couple sucking face right outside the door.  
  
Review.  
  
Momo and LuvSnuffles, Sorry I haven't written, but my email is acting up and won't send messages. I'm still waiting for it to be fixed and I will write then. Sorry. But do review. I like to know if you guys like the chapters.  
  
That goes for everyone else to. It's not that hard. Just a click of a button. Try IT!  
  
Hope you liked this chap! Had to get those two together. They just kept begging me. And it remedies any romance withdrawal. LOL! Review. Ta ta and tootles. 


	16. Dancing, Doting, Dressing Up

Dancing, Doting, Dressing Up  
  
Owls flew down to give their owners and anyone else mail. Everyone looked at them, hoping for mail, giving food to owls, and reading anything they had received.  
  
Lily and James, having dated for two weeks, were sitting next to each other, reading the Daily Prophet, although Ev thought it was an excuse to get as close to each other as possible.  
  
Ev grinned as she saw James sneak in a quick kiss on Lily's cheek. Lily promptly turned red and began to grin like a fool.  
  
Ev and Sirius both turned to each other from where they sat beside one another. At the same time both of them stuck their fingers in their mouths and pretended to gag. After stopping they looked at James and Lily, beaming. They just glared at them and continued 'reading.'  
  
Remus, Rae, and Lily laughed as Peter continued gobbling priggishly at him food.  
  
+=+=+=+=+=-=+=-=+=+=+=+=+  
  
"I'm so bored," Ara grumbled, staring around the Great Hall as if excitement was about to jump out and run to her.  
  
"I know what you mean," Rae said around a book she was reading at the breakfast table. "It's the weekend, and there's nothing even remotely thrilling going on."  
  
"Well," put in Sirius, "we could prank someone, we haven't done that in a while."  
  
Ev literally saw James' ears perk up at this. She smirked at him, but then Lily cut in on his happiness by saying, "Noooo. I don't want to prank; we've done that a lot already. I wish something was going on in school, something exciting." She looked to the head table, where Dumbledore was talking animatedly with McGonagall. She sighed.  
  
"Well, to be fair," Ara said, "it has been a while since we pranked. But," she added when she saw Sirius' gears turning to come up with a good prank, "I don't want to." She leaned forward dully. The glint in Sirius' eyes faded.  
  
"Excuse me," Dumbledore said quietly, yet loud enough so they could all hear him from the front of the room. "I have an announcement to make." There were whispers across the room. "If you could please shut up for a minute or quite possibly two, I will tell you something." Everyone looked at him and Ev grinned at this. "Excellent. Okay, so I know that we have all fallen into a rut and all due to the constant snow of winter. Some of the professors have come forward and we have decided to spice life up around here." Excited talking broke out around the room and Dumbledore waited for it to end. "Thank you. Now, the professors have decided, and I agree, that we should allow the students to have some fun outside of school. So, in precisely two weeks a dance will be held. Unfortunately only fourth years and up are allowed, however some exciting activities are planned for third years and under." Dumbledore eyes twinkled and he continued.  
  
"We have decided for a series of dances to be held, one every month until the end of the year. They will all have their own motif or theme. After collaborating and hearing a series of perfectly good ideas, and some not," added Dumbledore- Ev thought she heard McGonagall whisper 'orgy' under her breath but couldn't be sure-, "we have all agreed upon a theme for the first dance. Considering that it is so striking outside, with the white snow, we have decided upon a beautiful theme: Winter Ecstasy. This will consist of ice sculptures. It is a formal dance. Clothing should follow this criteria. Hogsmeade has agreed to stock such things for the next weeks so you know what I mean. For the next two weekends, we will be having Hogsmeade visits. I hope you come; there will be dancing and eating, fun for everyone. Thank you."  
  
Dumbledore sat down and began to converse with Flitwick as the students began loud discussion about the upcoming dance. Everyone had excited looks on their faces as they chattered about who they would like to ask and what they were going to wear.  
  
James whispered something into Lily's ear and she turned red with pleasure.  
  
"Of course," Sirius saw her murmur to him at which point he grinned to her toothily.  
  
"Grrr. . ." he said suggestively.  
  
Lily just rolled her eyes, James glared, and Ev started laughing.  
  
"Umm . . . Ara, would you . . .uhh . . . umm . . . you know, like to go with me, to the ball," Remus managed to splutter, albeit nervously.  
  
Ara smiled at him. "Of course," she answered shortly and they grinned at each other, shooting glances at one another throughout the rest of the meal.  
  
"So, who would you like to go with?" Sirius turned to Rae.  
  
Rae flushed. "No one," the blonde said quickly.  
  
"Oh really," Lily wickedly replied. "Are you sure you don't have your eye on anyone, say . . . Wesley Willingot from Ravenclaw, that tall blonde handsome devil!" Lily giggled then turned to James. "Not as handsome as you of course," she added.  
  
"Hey," James retorted, "I am secure enough in my masculinity to admit that Wesley is a hottie."  
  
"He is man pretty," Sirius declared, nodding.  
  
The girls laughed.  
  
^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^!^! ^!^!^!^!^!^!  
  
"So," Professor Pitstain stated, "start with those potions and I will walk around to give help to those who need it." Code for: I will only help the Slytherins; Gryffindors must forever be confused.  
  
"So, Ev," Lily started, "who do you want to go with to the dance?"  
  
"No one really," Ev replied carefully, throwing roots into their potion.  
  
They had gotten new partners this week, and Ev was luckily partnered with a friend. Sirius and James were working with Slytherins, James with a large bulk of a guy, man child as he was commonly known, and Sirius with an equally large girl with the largest breasts this side of the hemisphere.  
  
"Truly . . ." Lily said slowly. "Not even Sirius." She glanced at Ev and grinned when she flushed. "I knew it," she affirmed.  
  
"I'm going to kill Remus," garbled Ev.  
  
"What!? You told him before you told me. I can't believe that, he's a guy!" Lily seethed.  
  
"You don't say," Ev said patiently.  
  
Lily sighed. "Why don't you just ask Sirius to go with you?"  
  
"No way!"  
  
"Come on, be brave and just do it." Lily retorted.  
  
Ev looked at her. "Oh really, be brave? Look who's calling the kettle black." She began to cut up some hippogriff feather.  
  
"Okay, yeah that is true," Lily grumbled. "But cheap shot."  
  
"However," she started with a gleeful voice, "it worked out with me and James. Who's to say it won't work out between you and Sirius."  
  
"Sirius," Ev supplied. "He said, and I quote 'I was just trying to comfort you.'" Ev sighed.  
  
"Comforting you how and when?" Lily asked excitedly, always the gossiper.  
  
"When he kissed me, right before he told you guys about everything." Ev said dejectedly.  
  
"Oh," Lily said slowly, then brightened. "Maybe he was just saying that cause he thought that was how you felt. Maybe he likes you back. He did kiss you, did he not?"  
  
"I sort of initiated the kiss. And, I don't know," Ev replied.  
  
Lily snorted exasperatedly. "You have to at least try. Listen, this weekend the girls and I are going shopping for dresses, and you are coming." She stirred the cauldron.  
  
"What? No!" Ev practically screamed. "I hate shopping! Especially for clothes! It sucks! You cannot make me go!"  
  
"Well, yes, I'm afraid I can and I will. You need a gown and you are going to come whether you like it or not."  
  
Ev fumed silently.  
  
&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*& Next Saturday . . .  
  
"Okay," Lily said with authority, "Guys, we have to go shopping. And I'm sure you do too. We'll meet you at the Three Broomsticks in a couple of hours. Let's go!" She turned to walk toward the closest clothing shop.  
  
All the girls followed . . . except Ev.  
  
"Do I have to?" she whined, hiding behind the guys when Ara whipped around to glare at her.  
  
"Yes, you do, now come on!" They began to walk away again.  
  
"It's not fair," Sirius heard Ev mumble before skulking after them thoroughly vexed.  
  
"Have fun!" he called to her and the others cheekily.  
  
Ev turned and walked a few steps toward him. She rudely gave him the middle finger.  
  
"Doesn't matter." Sirius grinned, "I don't have to go shopping," he added in a singsong voice.  
  
"I hate you and all that you stand for," Ev replied darkly before turning to follow the girls into the godforsaken shop.  
  
She found them standing at a rack of brightly colored dresses, exclaiming over any good finds.  
  
"Oh, oh, look at this!" Rae called out, pulling out a bright green dress with no straps. "I'm going to try it on." She made a mad dash to the dressing room, rushing out in record speed. "What do you think?"  
  
Lily shook her head. "No, it clashes with your blonde hair."  
  
"Yeah, you're right," Rae agreed, grabbing another gown, this one mauve, and turning into the dressing room to change.  
  
Ev sighed, steeling herself for the long haul. Damn boys and not having to wear a dress, she thought angrily.  
  
An hour later . . .  
  
"Please, God, like this one!" Ev prayed, walking out of the dressing room. She was wearing one of the only dresses she liked out of the two and a half million she had tried on. The dress was a green camouflage one, just Ev's taste. She was hoping the other girls liked it so she could get the hell out of this store.  
  
Inwardly, Ev groaned, as the girls shook their heads in unison. They all were wearing dresses too, with the exception of Ara who had already found hers and bought it. The two others were searching the racks for the 'positively picture perfect' dress. Barf!  
  
"You know what!" Ev finally burst out, "I don't care. I like and I'm going to buy it. Then, I'm going to grab each of you and kill you, slowly and painfully."  
  
"Shut up and try this on!" Ara snapped, handing her a black dress with no straps. Ev promptly handed it back.  
  
"Straps, remember. I need straps." Ara rolled her eyes and began searching.  
  
An hour later . . .  
  
I'm going to use a knife . . . nope, too messy. A rope . . . takes too long. Oh, I know . . . a gun . . . I could drown them, strangle them, shoot them . . . Ev thought of the various ways to kill and mangle her friends.  
  
Her thoughts were cut off when Rae threw a white dress at her and ordered her to put it on.  
  
Ev sighed and obeyed. It was not fair; Ara, Rae, and Lily all had picked out dresses and were 'helping' Ev 'pick out' hers.  
  
"Aw, hell no," everyone heard her gasp while in the changing room. The door slammed open and Ev stood their, arms resting on either side of the doorway. "Hell will have a skating rink before I am caught dead in public in this piece of filth!"  
  
"What's wrong with it?" Ara questioned, cocking her head to observe the dress.  
  
"First of all, it's white. I'm not a big fan of white. I tend to lean more toward the darker colors, especially when I am being forced to wear a dress in public. I don't like to stand out in such situations. And second of all, it is not so much a dress, as much as a second skin, so to speak," Ev finished, glaring daggers at each girl in turn.  
  
"It's not that tight," Lily reprimanded. "I think you should get it. It brings out your tan."  
  
"Yeah, so does being naked," Ev breathed shortly. "And 'it's not that tight' my tan ass. Look at this," Ev turned to the side, "you can see every curve on my body. I don't like that." She turned to lean once more against the doorway, the picture of torture and anguish.  
  
The girls looked at her some more and had to agree. The dress, coming down to her knees, was tight. It showed off her curvy hips, muscular body stomach, legs, and arms, plus her not so small bosom. And the neckline wasn't plunging so much as plummeting. However, it did look good on Ev.  
  
"I doubt the school would even allow me to wear it," Ev cut in, trying for all she was worth to convince the girls that it was all wrong.  
  
"Maybe you're right." Ara mused.  
  
Ev hung her head in annoyance, waiting, trying to be patient, for them to make their final decision.  
  
"Dayummm," she heard someone mutter, not a male tone. She snapped her head up to see all four boys, James, Peter, Sirius, and Remus, standing behind the girls, all eight eyes on her.  
  
Ev closed her eyes, sighing. She felt herself turn slightly red and immediately tried to squash the embarrassment. Opening her eyes, she saw that Remus knew this because he was smiling amusedly at her, one eyebrow raised.  
  
Ev leaned her head back, in an attempt to look away from him as much as an attempt to force herself to turn her normal coloring. Finally feeling this, she looked back as everyone.  
  
"What?" she found herself snapping.  
  
The boys jerked.  
  
"Nothing," James answered breathlessly, "it's just, that dress, that body . . ." he trailed off.  
  
"How stupid are you?" Lily asked him.  
  
"Not so stupid that I don't think you aren't ten times as gorgeous as the last time I saw you," James said quickly to get himself off the hook.  
  
Seeing that it didn't, he leaned forward to give Lily a deep kiss. "Sorry," he mumbled against her lips. Lily responded by pulling him to her, opening her mouth with her tongue and continuing to kiss him.  
  
"Naw, I don't needa see that," Sirius looked away, turning his eyes back to Ev and finding himself once more captivated. God she was HOT!  
  
Ev looked at him dourly. "What?" she snapped angrily again.  
  
"Dayyyyuuuum . . ." Sirius found himself saying. "Whooeee. You look . . . nice." Sirius turned red at his stupidity. Great way to get a girl, ogling her.  
  
"Hot," Peter corrected, also staring at her.  
  
"Well, take a cold shower cause this isn't the dress I'm getting," replied Ev.  
  
"And why is that?" Remus finally spoke.  
  
Ev pretended to think. "Let's see, cause it screams 'HOOKER.'"  
  
"Sooooo," Sirius answered, raising his eyebrows at her suggestively.  
  
"Ugh." Ev turned into the dressing room, slamming the door behind her. Once hidden from view, she rubbed her face. How embarrassing was that? She thought to herself. She then found herself wondering what Sirius meant. Did he like her? Dammit, he's so confusing, she mentally screamed.  
  
"Can you guys leave?" Ev called out loud. "I still have to get a dress."  
  
"Fine," the guys grumbled, leaving.  
  
Later still . . .  
  
"Perfect," Lily gushed as the others giggled. "Get it!"  
  
There was no way in hell Ev was about to disagree. They had been freaking shopping for three and a half freaking hours.  
  
Oh well, at least they had gotten a dress even Ev had to admit she liked.  
  
Review. Review. Review.  
  
E-mail still isn't working. Thanks to everyone for all the reviews. Appreciate it!  
  
Lots of Ev/Sirius soon. Hee hee tee hee!  
  
Nudge nudge, wink wink, eyebrow eyebrow. HA HA!  
  
Oh right.  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue, yada do dee. 


	17. What You've All Been Waiting For

What You've All Been Waiting For  
  
The week flew by until it was the night before the dance. Girls giggled, and boys laughed, all thinking about what might happen at the dance.  
  
It seemed outside of Hogwarts, the weather was having a little party for itself. Snow had been falling for two days straight, covering the ground in a glistening blanket that allowed no one to leave the school. Herbology classes had been cancelled for the last two days because of it. The wind blew persistently, turning the Forbidden Forest into a large wave of green leaves. The Whomping Willow, however, refused to blow, and so stayed still as a statue. Icicles hung from any and every doorway and window on the school. Some people cursed the snow and cold, but Ev loved every minute of it. IT was gorgeous outside.  
  
Ev was watching the wind blow in her last class of the day on the Friday before the dance, Divination. What a crock of shit this class is, she thought. After entering the class she had claimed the seat way in the back by a window, which she had opened as far as she could without it being noticeable.  
  
"So, get together with the partner you last had and read each other's palms for me. I will be walking around to assist any who need it," Professor Nuray said. She was a short plump witch that you couldn't help but like even if you thought divination was a crock of shit.  
  
Sirius stood up and sat next to Ev. "Guess we're partners again." He winked at her.  
  
Outwardly Ev rolled her eyes, but inwardly she would have loved to swoon. She couldn't believe her luck, however, because she got to hold Sirius' hand for the next hour. Very nice . . .  
  
"Okay," muttered Sirius, snatching her hand and laying it on his palm so he could see the palm of her hand. He ran a finger from his other hand down her palm, and Ev felt a shiver down her back.  
  
She was turning into a moron, getting weird every time he was close by or touched her. It was ridiculous. Ah well, Ev thought as he ran his finger down her palm again.  
  
"Let's see," Sirius mumbled. He looked into his book. "That can't be right."  
  
"What?" Ev asked.  
  
Sirius looked into Ev's eyes, pretending to be scared and concerned. "You should have been dead when you were twelve." A smirk formed on his lips.  
  
Ev laughed loudly then stopped. "Dun dun dun!" she whispered fiercely.  
  
Sirius looked confused.  
  
"On Jaws, when the shark is chasing them . . .never mind," Ev waved her hand in dismissal.  
  
Sirius chuckled. "That was a little above my head," he told her.  
  
"Isn't everything," Ev retorted.  
  
"Oh, you're rude sarcastic," countered Sirius, snickering, at which point Ev joined in.  
  
"Hmm hmm," someone coughed over their shoulder. "Shouldn't you be reading each other's palms," said the professor.  
  
"Oh, we're done," Sirius answered, not looking at her. "Ev should be dead and I think this class is stupid."  
  
Ev snorted then said thoughtfully, "Are you sure you didn't get your palm confused with mine?"  
  
Both Ev and Sirius tried to hold in their laughter, but did not succeed.  
  
"You best calm down, I'd hate to give you a detention scheduled for the day of the dance," Nuray said coldly, hobbling away on her short legs.  
  
Ev and Sirius just shook their heads and began to 'read' one another's palms again.  
  
"Sooo," Ev said slowly, "you never told me. Who are you going with to the dance?"  
  
"No one," Sirius replied, turning red.  
  
"Oh come on! You can't tell me that the handsome devil Sirius doesn't have a date." Ev grinned at his apparent discomfort.  
  
"Not really. I wanted to go with someone, but I didn't have the nerve to ask her so she's going with someone else," lied Sirius. "Besides, you aren't going with anyone either." He would have liked to ask Ev, but he knew she'd say no, so most of his lie was based on fact.  
  
"Well, no, but I was nervous because I've never dated or anything, so I didn't want to go with anyone," Ev lied back. In truth, several different boys had asked her, but none of them had been Sirius so she had said no.  
  
A light bulb lit in Sirius' brain. "Alright, alright, umm, how 'bout we, you know, go together." Sirius tried to say this without sounding nervous, but he wasn't sure if he succeeded or not.  
  
Ev waited a second so her voice wouldn't sound too excited when she said, "Sure," as coolly as she could.  
  
They both went back to work on palmistry, each trying not to show their excitement and each failing. However, each was too embarrassed to look at the other, and so they missed the look of anticipation.  
  
%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%  
  
"So you're going together!" Rae screamed girlishly, when all the girls were talking in their dormitory. "That's so great!"  
  
"We're going as friends," Ev reminded morosely.  
  
"So," Lily snapped, "at least you're going together." She grinned happily.  
  
"It's turning out perfectly," Rae said dreamily, "I'm going with Wes, Ara's going with Remus, Lily and James, and now you and Sirius. It's going to be perfect."  
  
"Oh, not for Petey," Ev suddenly said. The others nodded sadly, agreeing that it was sad that Peter was going to be the eighth wheel, so to speak. "Ah well." The girls giggled.  
  
^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^  
  
"So she said 'yes'?" Remus asked Sirius casually.  
  
"Yeah," Sirius said offhandedly.  
  
"Cool," the three other boys said in unison.  
  
(((((((()))))))))(((((((())))))))((((((())))))))()))))))))((((((((())))))))( ((((((())))))))(((((()))))))  
  
Saturday . . . day of the dance  
  
Dance in 5 hours exactly . . .  
  
"Let's get ready," Lily stood up and began walking toward the girls' dormitory.  
  
"What?!" Ev sounded incredulous. "It's only three o'clock and the dance begins at eight. That's five hours of getting ready. You have got to be kidding me."  
  
"No," Rae, standing next to Lily, said, "we need time to make ourselves the belles of the ball."  
  
"Then you should have started at noon," Sirius heard Ev mutter and began to laugh loudly.  
  
"What?" Ara asked, sounding suspicious.  
  
Ev glared at Sirius and he said, "Nothing," as innocently as possible.  
  
"Come on Ev." That sounded like an order. One Ev was not about to follow. Lily turned around. "Get your ass up and let's get ready."  
  
"I'll be up there in about, ohhh, four hours. I only need about an hour to get ready, not even." Ev said, curtly.  
  
"I don't care, we are going to help you get ready and we are going now, so get up and come on!" Ara snapped.  
  
Ev looked at her, purposefully looking defiant. "Ooh, I don't think so."  
  
Heaving a sigh, Lily strode forward, grabbing Ev's arm and beginning to drag her to the stairs.  
  
Ev gave a strategic twist of her body and pulled herself from Lily. "Do you forget that I am skilled in martial arts as well as, well, basically every sort of fighting technique there is?" Ev said sweetly.  
  
"GET YOUR ASS UP THERE!" Lily screamed. All around the common room people looked up, shocked. Lily did not seem to care though, and continued to stare at Ev.  
  
Ev shifted uncomfortably before saying, "Fine!" angrily. She turned and grabbed her sweatshirt off the couch, whispering to Sirius, "Holy shit, I thought she was going to kill us all."  
  
"Have fun!" Sirius whispered back, beaming toothily.  
  
"Fuck off!" Ev snapped loudly, causing several first years to gasp and Sirius and James to hoot with laughter.  
  
!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#  
  
"It's not fair!" Ev moaned while in the shower that Ev had ordered her to take. The bathroom, large and containing four stall, was steaming up because each girl was taking one.  
  
Once out of the shower and dry, each girl wearing a robe, they all sat down on Lily's bed against the middle of the wall in the room.  
  
"Okay," Lily said commandingly, "let's put on lotion."  
  
Once thoroughly 'lotioned up', they all had to decide how they wanted their hair.  
  
"How are you going to put your hair up?" Rae asked as she pulled hers back into a perfect artfully made messy bun.  
  
"I thought I'd wear it down," Ev said brusquely as she read her book on her bed.  
  
"Noooo," Lily reprimanded, "you are wearing it up and that's final."  
  
"Yes, Mom." Ev sarcastically saluted her, earning herself a smack across the head. "Hey, don't make me kick your puny little ass."  
  
*********  
  
2 hours till dance time . . .  
  
"Okay," Ara declared, giving Ev one last brush across the cheek with the blush, "makeup is all done. Now we should get our dresses on."  
  
"Okay, be right back," Ev whispered as if she was excited. She walked quickly into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. "I just have to pee," she called.  
  
Looking at herself in the mirror, Ev almost gagged. They were waiting until after she put on her dress to do her hair, but the makeup, GOOD God! Grabbing some toilet paper, she began to lessen it, blotting off all of her dark red lipstick, scrubbing at her cheeks to remove basically the entirety of the blush, and thoroughly removing all traces of eye makeup. Coming to a conclusion, Ev washed her whole face to remove all of the makeup.  
  
Walking out, Lily immediately noticed. "What the heck is that? Arabella just finished with your makeup and you took it off!"  
  
"Listen, makeup is not my thing. If I'm going to wear it, it is going to be in earth tones and very light. And I don't care if you yell at me cause I could kill you." Ev crossed her arms.  
  
Lily groaned loudly. "Fine, come here."  
  
"So," Ev said as Lily applied makeup, "do you love James?"  
  
"No," Lily said dubiously. "I really like him, but it's not love."  
  
"Right," Ev replied skeptically, "And 'denial' isn't just a river in Egypt."  
  
"Shut up!" Lily snapped. Ev grinned. She loved infuriating people, particularly when it was really easy.  
  
*******************************  
  
Half hour till dance . . .  
  
"Well," James supposed, "Guess we should go get ready."  
  
"Alright." The guys stood up and walked to their dormitory.  
  
((((((((((((((((((((((((((()))))))))))))))))))))))))))))  
  
5 minutes to dance . . .  
  
"Girls, come on!" James yelled up the girls' stairs. "We only have five minutes to get to the Great Hall. The whole common room is empty now."  
  
"Just a minute," Rae called back.  
  
"God dammit!" the boys heard Ev. "Can we please go now? I don't want to have to mess up your hair Lily. . ." "Fine!" Lily replied, opening the door and walking out, followed by the other girls.  
  
"Holy crap. . ." Remus trailed off.  
  
The four girls stood in front of the guys. Ev looked incredibly pissed and annoyed, while the other girls appeared to have had the time of their lives. Sirius saw Ev give a deadly look to Lily, and grinned at her. She rolled her eyes in reply. Sirius then returned to staring at her. Wow, these girls looked good.  
  
Rae was wearing a light purple dress that went to her ankles, with a slit up to her knee. Spaghetti straps kept it on. She was wearing high-heeled white sandals. Her medium length blonde hair was piled onto her head artfully into a messy bun. She was looking quite good.  
  
Lily was wearing a green dress that matched her eyes. At the chest it was tight and at the knees it was loose, with thick straps over the shoulder. She was wearing black-heeled sandals. Lily wore her hair down in waves. She wore a cross necklace. You could tell James liked it. If he were a cartoon, his eyebrows would be in his hair. James grabbed her arm and put it in his, smiling warmly at her.  
  
Ara was wearing a periwinkle blue dress that hung down to her ankles. It was made of soft silk, not to be confused with rough silk. It laced up in the back. The skirt part had a flowery design on it in gold and there was another piece of fabric that covered this, still showing the flower design in front. Her shoes were blue slipper like and had two-inch heels. Ara's hair had been kept down and straightened. She wore a necklace that consisted of a large blue jewel hanging from a circular chain. Remus gasped, staring at her. He beamed.  
  
And Ev. Dayummm, Sirius thought. She had on a red dress that was almost orange. It was slim fitting and relatively low cut, showing just a bit of cleavage. The dress went down to the floor and was slit almost up to her knee, showing a bit of long tan leg. It had spaghetti straps. The back of the dress came up to the middle of her back, showing even more tan skin. She was wearing matching strappy sandals with a low heel. Ev hated high heels. Ev was, of course, wearing the necklace with the Celtic Claddagh on it. She had taken off the other necklace with all the pendants on it. There was still a stud in Ev's eyebrow and it matched the dress. Her dark brown hair had been curled and put up into a messy twist on the top of her head. Little ringlets had fallen out and were hanging around her face. Unlike Rae, Ara, and Lily it wasn't obvious that she was wearing makeup. She only had on some brown shade of eye shadow and, unless Sirius was mistaken, she was wearing Chap Stick instead of lipstick. She was gorgeous.  
  
"Yowza," Sirius mumbled. "You girls are looking pretty good tonight."  
  
"After five freaking hours we better," Ev said heatedly.  
  
Lily elbowed her, hard.  
  
"Ow! How many times am I gonna have to threaten you today?" Ev snapped.  
  
"Let's go," Lily said to James, smiling at him. They walked to the portrait, followed by Rae, Peter, Ara, and Remus.  
  
Sirius bowed and held his hand out to Ev. Taking her hand he pressed his lips to the back of it, eyes twinkling cockily. Pulling back he said brightly, "Well, let's go then."  
  
"Kay," Ev responded.  
  
&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^  
  
"I'll be right back with some punch," Sirius whispered, walking away and leaving Ev alone at the table. The others were all dancing currently.  
  
Ev turned to watch people slow dance. Remarkably, someone had agreed to dance with Peter. James and Lily were whispering to each other. Ev had to admit they looked really sweet together. Remus and Ara, although very different, seemed to fit too. Right now, Ara had her head resting against his chest. Rae and Wesley were currently leaning in to kiss one another.  
  
Wonder if that will ever be Sirius and me, Ev thought. She was really getting mad at herself for acting stupid when it came to boys, at least to this certain one. Ev had finally decided that she would tell him, tonight, later, if she could work up the nerve.  
  
"Hello there," someone close by whispered, "and how are you doing?"  
  
Ev recognized that voice. She felt him move beside her.  
  
"Any part of you that touches me you're not getting back," Ev tersely said.  
  
Lucius Malfoy chuckled creepily. "Always pushing people away. I see you came here with Black. Does someone have a crush on him, huh? I think you do." Malfoy grinned when he saw Ev turn red.  
  
"I knew it."  
  
Ev turned to him. "Fuck you."  
  
"If you want," Malfoy replied suggestively.  
  
"Shut the hell up," Ev snapped.  
  
"Fine," he replied. "Would you like to dance?" Lucius moved his hand out to grab her arm.  
  
"Oh, stop right there, Ponyboy. You and the rest of the Outsiders can go rumble someplace else."  
  
Malfoy raised a confused eyebrow. "What?" he breathed.  
  
"It translates into 'get the hell away from me, Ponyboy.'" Ev glared at him menacingly. "I'd hate to have to ruin your face during a dance. Not that I wouldn't," she added. "It's just to much effort on my part."  
  
She looked away, bored.  
  
"Feisty, I see," Malfoy drawled, smirking at her. "Resisting me? Doesn't matter." He stood up. "I'll see you later. My little temptress."  
  
Ev watched him walk away. She was gonna have to kick his ass soon, keep him in line.  
  
"Hey," Sirius said, walking up to her with two bottles of butterbeer in his hand. "Here." He handed her the bottle.  
  
Ev snapped it open and took an angry gulp.  
  
"Whoa! What's wrong?" Sirius questioned while chuckling.  
  
"Malfoy," Ev said without explanation. Sirius nodded in understanding.  
  
"You want me to punch him for you?" Sirius offered.  
  
Ev turned to him, grinning. "YOU punch him for ME?"  
  
Sirius groaned. "Come on. At least let me pretend to be the man tonight."  
  
"Okay. Punch him later. But, I'll hold him."  
  
Sirius nodded in agreement. He then cleared his throat. Standing up he asked, "Look. Do you wanna dance?"  
  
"Sure," Ev answered quickly, standing up and setting down her drink. "I'm, ahh, not very good at it though. Haven't had much practice."  
  
"Me either. Kiss your feet goodbye, cause they're gonna get stepped on tonight." Sirius told her.  
  
They walked out to the dance floor as a new song started, this one slow. Nervously they placed their arms around each other.  
  
"Ow," Ev yelled suddenly.  
  
"Sorry," Sirius muttered, looking down and turning red.  
  
"It's alright."  
  
"Ouch!" Sirius then yelled.  
  
"Oh sorry, that was me." They grinned at each other.  
  
&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^&^  
  
It was eleven o'clock and the dance was still going. Finishing a fast song, during which Sirius and Ev had pushed away many dancers cause of their crazy movements, they were both still trying to tell the other that they had feelings for them.  
  
Sirius was having doubts because he didn't want her to hate him or feel uncomfortable around him and Ev was having doubts because she had never done any of this before, liking a boy.  
  
Standing up from the table where they had been talking and laughing loudly with the others, Ev motioned to Sirius. "You wanna go for a walk?"  
  
He nodded, pushing back his chair. Once in the hall, Ev popped away for a second, only to reappear with her cloak. They then walked out the doors of the Great Hall.  
  
The outside was decorated just as much as the inside was. Ice fountains and snow structures covered the grounds, forming different shapes. Glittering icicles hung from the castle and a path had been formed with colored ice of light blue and pink and yellow. It was lined with rose bushed that had been magicked to bloom despite the cold.  
  
Ev and Sirius both left the path and walked down to the lake where they sat down at a stone bench that was intricately carved with flowers and leaves. If they hadn't been so nervous, the two would have stopped and looked at its beauty. Instead they both sat down, aware of the closeness of the other.  
  
"So, what'd you want to talk about?" Sirius whispered just because it seemed wrong to talk loudly.  
  
"Nothing," Ev replied rapidly, "nothing specific anyway. You?"  
  
"Oh, nothing," Sirius responded quietly.  
  
Ev took a deep breath. You are such a sissy, she told herself. Just tell him. You're better than this whole keeping secrets and too scared to tell him bit. Do it.  
  
"Fine," Ev said bitterly, out loud too.  
  
"What?" Sirius questioned.  
  
"Nothing." Ev turned red and hoped he'd think it was because of the cold.  
  
"Look," she finally said resolutely, turning to him. "I have something to tell you. You see, for a while, I mean . . . recently I've had . . . I've been wanting to tell you that I, well, I have an enormous crush on you." Ev finished this quickly, looking down at the fluffy white snow.  
  
There was a silence as Ev waited for him to respond. She cocked an ear at him when she still heard silence.  
  
Sirius was floored. This whole time that he had liked her, she had liked him back? How could he be so stupid as to not notice it?  
  
But then again, did he want to do this? With Ev there were a lot of complications. Did he really want to get started with all that?  
  
Looking at Ev he said kindly, "Look, I . . .before I say anything I want you to know that you are my friend."  
  
Ev looked away and said softly, "Oh, I understand. No need to, uhh, say anymore."  
  
"No but," Sirius started.  
  
Ev quickly stood up. "No, uhh, really it's okay. It's like you said right? 'Just friends.' I'll settle for that. But, I'm gonna go right now." Ev turn and ran like the little sissy she thought she was.  
  
Sirius started after her, fully prepared to tackle her if he had to, but as he chased she suddenly disappeared. There was no point looking for her now, she could be anywhere.  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
You are so STUPID, her mind screamed.  
  
What the HELL happened! I though he was supposed to like me back. Isn't that usually the way of things? That's always how it goes in any romance novels I've read. Dammit!  
  
Ev paced in an empty corridor. She had disappeared and found herself in the halls of the school, where she had hitched up her skirt and run, cloak billowing behind her.  
  
Ev heard a noise behind her and whirled around. She dropped her clenched fists in disgust when she saw none other than the spawn of Satan standing before her.  
  
"What are you doing here Malfoy?" she spat.  
  
Chuckling, Malfoy advance on her. "I was heading back to the Slytherin common room when I saw you. Thought I'd come over for a chat."  
  
He continued walking toward her.  
  
"Back off. I don't want to hurt you, not! But that's the way I am. When I get backed into a corner I just snap and start hurting people!" Ev yelled, getting nervous at how close he was.  
  
Putting his arm on either side of the wall so Ev was trapped, Lucius whispered, "I know your secret. I know everything." At Ev's bewildered look he added, "You aren't the only one who knows about the room of requirement or the only one who uses it. Sirius wasn't exactly being quiet when he told them your story."  
  
The color drained out of Ev's face. "Wha-," she started.  
  
Putting his lips close to her ears, Lucius whispered, "I own you now." He grinned maliciously.  
  
Ev's eyes hardened and she thrust her knee up with all her strength. Lucius had been expecting this and had moved to the side.  
  
"You're not getting me that easily, you whore," he spat. He smacked her roughly and Ev groaned, punching him in the gut.  
  
"Bastard!" she yelled at him.  
  
"Bitch!" he roared back.  
  
Obviously completely loosing sense of his always-apparent calm and cool manner, he pulled back his fist, prepared to punch the girl in front of him.  
  
Ev just stared at him, prepared to take the hit, at which point she could beat him to a bloody pulp. However the blow never came.  
  
Instead she saw Malfoy being turned around. There was a loud thump and then he quickly fell to the floor with a loud smack. It was the kind of hit that was gonna wake him up in the middle of the night.  
  
Ev looked up into the flashing dark eyes of Sirius Black.  
  
She found herself angry. She could have handled it. But no, first he had to break her hearth, then not even let her kick Malfoy's ass.  
  
"I could've handled him, you know," she snapped at him. She brushed past him and began walking quickly up the dungeon steps.  
  
"What, no thank you?" Sirius drawled, annoyed.  
  
Ev closed her eyes and stopped, only to continue walking again. "Thanks," she whispered. "How'd you know where I was?"  
  
"I've been looking for you for the last two hours. Did you know that it is one in the morning?! Anyway, I heard you yelling at him and him yelling at you," Sirius shrugged, walking along the other side of the corridor.  
  
"Thanks," Ev muttered again, "you didn't have to do that."  
  
"We're friends," Sirius reminded.  
  
"Right, friends. Nothing more." Ev spoke bitterly.  
  
"Actually that's what I wanted to talk to you about," Sirius mumbled, turning red.  
  
"Well, go ahead then." Ev stopped in a dark area between to torches, waiting for him to speak.  
  
Sirius looked at the ground. He ran his hand through his long black hair. "Well, I was scared . . ." he started.  
  
"Scared of what?" Ev interrupted.  
  
Sirius looked at her, embarrassed. "To kiss you."  
  
Ev audibly gulped. "You want to kiss me?"  
  
"I wanted to. But I was worried that we might lose our friendship if it, you know, didn't work out. And I didn't want to chance that because ever since Lily has James all the time, you're like my new best friend. I'd hate to lose that." Sirius had begun pacing and he now stopped, standing before her.  
  
"I wouldn't worry about that. We aren't even, like, dating or anything. Even if it doesn't 'work out', I'd still wanna be friends," Ev whispered.  
  
"Really?" asked Sirius, shocked. Ev nodded. "In that case, I, uhh, I want to date you, if you still want to, sometime, soon." Sirius turned red.  
  
Ev gave a light laugh. "You're more nervous than I was, I think." She smiled embarrassedly at him.  
  
"Can I kiss you?" Sirius questioned soberly, ignoring her comment.  
  
Ev stopped her laughing abruptly and looked at him for a second. "Sure," she answered hurriedly. She nodded at him, smiling slightly.  
  
Nodding back, Sirius closed the space between them. Reaching out his arms, he cupped Ev's face between his hands. He felt her give a shake breath and then he leaned closer. Closing his eyes, he pressed his lips softly to hers.  
  
Kissing back, Ev put one hand on his side and the other on his neck. She pulled him closer to her so she was leaning against the wall behind her.  
  
Sirius took his hands from her face, and instead slid them down to her waist. He pulled back for breath and grinned at her. Moving in for another kiss, he pressed his lips harder against hers and opened his mouth slightly to get his tongue on in the action.  
  
Suddenly, he felt Ev push him away and opened his eyes to see Ev leaning against the wall, breathing deeply.  
  
"What?" asked Sirius, breathing deeply also.  
  
"I, uhh, I don't like it," Ev explained shortly, not meeting his eye.  
  
"Am I that bad of a kisser?" Sirius said, chuckling.  
  
Ev turned her eyes to him. They were shining brightly as she explained, "It reminded me . . . it's the first time I've ever really kissed by choice . . . I don't think I'm ready. I picture something else . . . when my eyes are closed like that." She looked pleadingly into his eyes. "Can we wait for me to get used to this before we do the whole kissing thing?"  
  
"Uhh, sure," Sirius replied slowly. "But, didn't you kiss me in the bed that night."  
  
"That was different," Ev said hastily and with vehemence.  
  
"How?" questioned Sirius.  
  
"It just was, okay? Can we please just wait until I'm ready?"  
  
Thinking, I didn't agree to this, Sirius nonetheless agreed. "Sure, if that's what you want."  
  
"I'll give you the green light when I'm ready."  
  
Sirius nodded. What's a green light supposed to mean? he thought.  
  
(((((((((((((((((((((((9  
  
A nice long one for all ya'll. Do review!  
  
REVIEW! REVIEW!  
  
So they're together. However, when will she kiss him? Hmmmmmmmm. Hee hee! 


	18. Happy Detentions, Ardent Kisses

Happy Detentions, Ardent Kisses  
  
Over the next weeks, nobody really caught on to the fact that Ev and Sirius were 'together' due to the fact that they didn't publicly show it. Their friends knew of course, and there was quite a bit of teasing on their part, but after being reminded of Ev's few 'talents' with fighting it stopped.  
  
However, it was physically killing Sirius because he kept being left 'high and dry' if you understand my meaning. He couldn't even stand being near her and not kissing her.  
  
Though, they were never alone and he never did get to kiss her again. In fact, it seemed that he was close to her much less than when they were just friends. She always seemed so tense and scared, but Sirius tried to keep in mind all the things that had happened to her and how they had affected her.  
  
Dammit, he thought to himself, as he sat next to Ev in Muggle Studies. Her leg was only inches from his and her arm frequently brushed his. Lord help me!  
  
"Now," the professor said, "the Muggles, lacking magical help, are forced to do tedious activities with only themselves." He pointed to a large box that rested on the floor next to him. "I, as a wizard, am able to use magic to lift this wherever I want." He flicked his wand and the box lifted. "However, Muggles must use some sort of contraption or their own muscle." Setting the box down, he gazed around the room until his eyes rested on Ev, his least favorite student.  
  
Inwardly smiling he cleared his throat. "Miss Rhyahnnon, would you come up here please." He ordered more than requested.  
  
Ev pointed at herself for clarification and then slid back her chair and stood up. She slowly ambled her way toward the front of the room where she stopped on the other side of the box.  
  
"Yes?" she murmured, smiling politely and, magnificently, sarcastically at the same time.  
  
"Would you kindly show the Muggle way of moving heavy things by picking this box up," Dave told her.  
  
Ev jerked her head in compliance. Turning her back to the class she bent over to reach the bottom of the box.  
  
Oh no, Sirius thought as he got a beautiful shot of her derriere. He raised his head to the ceiling so as not to get too turned on. Why do you mock me God? he asked.  
  
He looked down again where Ev was searching for a good position in which to hold the box. She was, of course, wearing Muggle clothing. Today it consisted of a pair of blue jeans with a chain in place of a belt. She was wearing her camouflage tank top along with a black over shirt that was unbuttoned.  
  
Finally managing a grasp, Ev's muscles tightened as she stood up.  
  
After several moments of holding the box she dropped it when Dave gave her a nod.  
  
"Thank you," he told her.  
  
Grunting in response, Ev turned to head toward her seat. Her face was red from the exertion.  
  
Before sitting down in her seat, Ev muttered in Sirius' ear, "God damn that was heavy."  
  
He nodded in response, feeling shivers from the feeling her voice gave him when she talked into his ear. He had to get some kissing soon.  
  
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()  
  
Boys' dormitory . . .  
  
"It's killing me," Sirius gruffly told the others as he paced, "it is actually physically killing me. Every time she's near I can't even think straight. Is she consciously doing this to me? Does she think to herself, 'what can I wear today, what can I do today, to make Sirius go wild'? Hmmm, is she? Is she?"  
  
Sirius stopped pacing and instead stood there looking crazy.  
  
"Dude," James laughed, "you have got to do something. Kiss her. Why does she have to kiss you anyway?"  
  
"Because," Sirius moaned, "it's the first relationship she's been in and she's nervous. Stupid bitch!" He plopped onto his bed as the others chuckled.  
  
"Don't know what to tell you." Remus notified him.  
  
"Guess I'll go into the bathroom and 'be alone' for a while," Sirius grumbled.  
  
"Oh, that's all kinds of nasty," James told him, cringing.  
  
******&&&&&&&&&&&&*********  
  
"I think it's starting to get to Sirius," Ev told the girls as she walked nervously around the girls' dormitory. "He's probably gonna break up with me just cause I'm not ready to kiss him."  
  
"No he won't," Rae scoffed. "Look, Sirius can be . . . rude and lewd and an asshole . . .annoying . . . gruff and a little . . ." She paused, searching for the right word.  
  
"Magoo," Lily put in.  
  
"Yes," Rae said, snapping her fingers. "But, he really cares about you and he would never do that. I'm sure he'll wait till you're ready. He's got it bad for you, alright." She winked at Ev.  
  
Ev groaned. "Maybe . . . maybe I should get it over with. I mean, eventually right, I'm gonna have to do it. I'm gonna have to kiss him. Maybe I should just walk up to him and do it." She gulped.  
  
Lily snorted loudly and exasperatedly. "For God's sake, Ev. It's not like you're walking the plank or in line to the guillotine. We're talking about you kissing somebody, your boyfriend no less. It doesn't have to be some big deal. Just do it!"  
  
"Ho, ho, ho," Ev replied slowly, "someone's pretty condescending ever since they put out."  
  
All the girls gasped, whipping their heads to stare at Lily, who was making a slashing motion across her neck at Ev.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry," Ev said innocently, cocking her head to the side. "Was I not supposed to tell? Oh well!" She grinned, her eyes twinkling in merriment.  
  
"You bitch," Lily responded angrily. She stood up and made a move toward the bathroom. Rae, however, had other ideas. She stood up quickly from her bed and made her way quickly to the bathroom, blocking the way. Lily gave a groan and turned to leave the room altogether, but Ara had stood up and placed herself in front of it. Her arms were folded across her chest and she chewed on her bottom lip.  
  
"Welllll," she taunted, "I guess we know who the slut of the group is." She stared at Lily pointedly.  
  
"When did it happen?" Rae questioned in a shocked voice.  
  
"A couple of weeks ago," Ev answered for her, earning herself a glare that could kill.  
  
Rae gave a loud intake of breath. "You bad girl! I can't believe you did that when you've only been dating for, what, a month? You little harlot, you." She seemed quite amused by all of this and grinned.  
  
Lily responded by throwing up her hands. "I don't have to answer to any of you," she cried, jumping into Ara's bed, since Ev was sitting on hers.  
  
"So how'd it happen?"  
  
"Did you just suddenly jump each other?"  
  
"How big WAS his manhood?"  
  
"How far did you go?"  
  
"Was it amazing?"  
  
"Did you do it on this bed?" Ev interrupted, standing up with a disgusted look on her face.  
  
"After a date. No, it started with kissing and grew from there. Amazing. Go damn it was great. Yes and yes." Lily responded, pushing Rae out of the way, at which she gave an indignant squeak, and slamming the door behind her.  
  
"Lily's a freeeakkkk," Ev laughed. The girls roared with laughter as Lily gave a loud screech of protest.  
  
)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))  
  
You can do this. It's easy. Other people have done it. It can't be that hard if even Peter has kissed a girl. Wonder who'd do that. She must have been crazy or like, really ugly. And desperate. What are you doing? Get back on track. Whoooo. Okay. You'll just walk up to him and do it. Like taking candy from a baby. That can be quite hard though . . .  
  
Ev sat mutely in Potions, listening as Pitstain droned on and on and on and on about the properties of fig. "It can also be used as a very effective aphrodisiac, I should know," he added, his eyes glinting eerily. There was a collective shudder around the room at the image of Pitstain tousling in a bed with some ravishing beauty.  
  
Ev leaned over to whisper in Remus' ear, "Things that make you go 'ughhh.'"  
  
Remus bit his lip to hold back his laughter, returning to his taking notes. Ev however, could not bring herself to take notes. She kept sneaking glances at Sirius, on the other side of the room next to James. He had taken off his robe and was wearing his uniform. Nonetheless, he had loosened the tie and unbuttoned the first two buttons, showing off a little chest. It was enough to get Ev nervous and excited at the same time. She also gazed at his lips, trying not to be obvious. They looked quite soft and warm and a little plump. Okay, no, back to figs and Pitstain doing it with some girl. Ev turned to the professor.  
  
He was now telling them the assignment. ". . .groups to make the potion I have written on the board. It is quite complicated and takes several days. You will be storing it in your rooms so don't drop them, spill them, etcetera. Whoever concocts the potion correctly will receive 100 house points and a nod of congratulations from me. Now get started with the person next to you."  
  
Remus and Ev stood up. As Remus gathered the ingredients, Ev prepared the cauldron, setting it onto the fire so it could begin to heat up.  
  
After half an hour or so of cutting up figs and grinding down various ingredients and doing countless other things, like plucking legs off of beetles, Remus and Ev sat down in front of the cauldron, waiting for it to boil before taking it off, at which point they could take it to one of their dormitories. Sultry  
  
Ev suddenly stood up with stubborn decisiveness. "I'll be right back. I gotta go, do something." She turned with her new resolve and made her way across the dungeon, intending to go to where James and Sirius were sitting.  
  
This was when Sirius looked up and saw Ev sashaying toward him, looking so desirable that it had to be illegal. He watched as she nervously ran a hand through her long dark hair. Good God, she was gorgeous.  
  
She had by now reached where he was standing with James, waiting for their potion to bubble.  
  
Ev didn't waste any time. She grabbed Sirius' arm roughly and pulled him to her. Without hesitation she pressed her lips to his. Sirius didn't respond at first but then he pressed his lips back. He let Ev be the one to deepen the kiss, and she did. She grabbed onto each of his shoulders and opened her mouth slightly. Slowly, oh so slowly, she ran her tongue across his lips, driving him crazy. Sirius suddenly responded even more, putting out his hands and resting them on her waist. Ev moaned oh so slightly in response.  
  
They didn't even notice how quiet the room had become, or how Pitstain had just walked dup to them. Grabbing each of their arms, he pulled them roughly apart, much to each of their chagrin.  
  
"What is the meaning of this?" the professor yelled, spitting with rage.  
  
Ev and Sirius were still staring at each other. Sirius slowly grinned and she beamed back.  
  
"Nothing, sir," Sirius returned, turning his head to look at the professor.  
  
*****&*****&*****  
  
"Detention, both of you," he yelled at them from behind his mahogany desk. He was leaning toward them and had his hands resting on his desk.  
  
Sitting in the two seats before him, the two merely looked at each other with raised eyebrows.  
  
"Whatever you say, sir," Ev replied evenly.  
  
"Follow me," Pitstain countered between gritted teeth.  
  
They left the classroom, which had ended several minutes ago and walked through the dungeons and up many staircases. They finally reached a statue of a gargoyle. Pitstain muttered a password and they boarded a wooden staircase they took them up to Dumbledore's office.  
  
Not even bothering to knock, the professor barged in. Dumbledore simply looked up, seemingly not surprised.  
  
"In trouble again, I see, Everard," he told her, eyes twinkling. "Although, this time Mr. Black is included. What happened?"  
  
"I caught them kissing quite passionately." Pitstain snapped, and then realized he had done so to the headmaster. "Sir," he added. Dumbledore nodded in response.  
  
"You didn't 'catch us'," Sirius amended, "we were doing so right in the middle of your classroom."  
  
This earned him an amused glare from Ev and an entertained look from Dumbledore.  
  
"I forget why that was supposed to be a good thing," Sirius mumbled.  
  
"You can leave us, Professor Raygon," the headmaster told Pitstain.  
  
Grumbling loudly, Pitstain left in a huff. Smiling slightly, Dumbledore turned to them and motioned for them to sit. After they did he asked calmly, "So, what happened here?"  
  
"Nothing short of a miracle," Ev responded, smirking.  
  
Dumbledore was quiet for a second. "Did you really start kissing in the middle of your class?" he finally queried.  
  
Ev and Sirius glanced at each other and Sirius answered, "Well, a little bit, some . . .yes."  
  
"I hate to day this," Dumbledore told them quietly, "but kissing during class is not only prohibited, but it is also a infallible way to get a detention."  
  
"Yes, sir," Sirius said, looking nervous.  
  
"Mm-kay, Double D," Ev said offhandedly, looking at a particular painting on the wall to her right.  
  
"You will be mopping up the Great Hall this evening," Dumbledore continued. "Please report there after dinner." Infallible  
  
The two nodded at him. He nodded back. They were obviously dismissed, so they both stood up and made their way to the door.  
  
Ev turned back before crossing the threshold to shake a finger at Albus and say, "You, you are infallible."  
  
Dumbledore grinned back.  
  
Once they were standing at the gargoyle again Sirius managed to ask her, "What do you mean by that?"  
  
Blushing slightly, Ev responded, "Well, he's managed to find a way for us to be alone for hours, hasn't he?"  
  
She turned and began walking, heading in the direction of Gryffindor Tower.  
  
"You know," Sirius told her loudly, running to catch up, "I've never said this, but Dumbledore is an amazing man."  
  
They grinned at each other.  
  
"And what's with Double D?" he added, eyebrow raised.  
  
"I just call him that, that's all. I've spent a lot of time in that room, you know." Ev explained, looking at him.  
  
Sirius stared back, gazing into her fathomless green eyes.  
  
"Since when are your eyes green?" he whispered to her, stopping.  
  
"I can change them if you want," Ev responded breathlessly, gazing into his dark eyes.  
  
"Really." Sirius sounded interested.  
  
Ev nodded in response, walking closer to him. "Yeah," she said shortly.  
  
Smirking, Sirius wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close, staring into those almost grass green irises. "Maybe later," he told her gruffly, putting his face nearer to hers.  
  
"Okay," Ev whispered huskily in response.  
  
They both leaned a couple of inches forward, touching their lips for a very sweet and tender kiss. It quickly turned more passionate as Ev put her arms around his shoulders and Sirius pulled her even closer until she was pressed right against him. This time he was the one to open his mouth and move his tongue along her lips until they opened. Ev pulled him toward her, walking backwards until she felt her back slam into the stonewall. She groaned slightly, rubbing her hands across Sirius' strong muscular back. He countered, putting both hands on the sides of her waist. He put his thumbs forward, pressing them into the bones of her hips. Ev arched her back slightly and Sirius moaned against her lips.  
  
"I don't want to know," someone said airily, striding quickly past.  
  
Sirius and Ev drew apart quickly and turned to see the back of Professor Nuray as she turned the corner. They looked at each other, grinning, and stepped in for another kiss.  
  
"You know? This isn't so bad," Ev told him.  
  
"Hell no, it isn't," Sirius retorted in breathless anticipation.  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  
  
"You have as long as you need to finish this," Dumbledore assured them before walking out the door and leaving them to mop up the whole Great Hall without magic.  
  
"Well, let's get started," Ev told him, grabbing a mop and slapping it onto the floor.  
  
Sirius watched her for a moment before saying, "You are really good at that."  
  
"Thank you, now get started," Ev responded.  
  
"What? No more kissing?"  
  
"Not, until we're done," she said slowly.  
  
"Fiiiiinnnnne," he whined, grabbing the other mop angrily and beginning.  
  
Several minutes later he was already bored.  
  
"Can we at least talk while we mop?" he whimpered.  
  
"Fine, go ahead." Ev said, trying to stay patient.  
  
"Okay. Oh I know. If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?" Sirius said like a child.  
  
"You go first," Ev told him.  
  
"Okay. Let's see . . . . . hmmm . . . well not that . . . mmm no," he mumbled to himself for a while.  
  
"Look, it's not a life altering decision. Just go!" Ev finally yelled.  
  
"Okay. Steak," he replied in a masculine voice. And sexy if you asked Ev. "What about you?"  
  
"Cheesecake," Ev said breathily. And erotically if you asked Sirius.  
  
"No, no, no," he instead said, "I cannot have a fat girlfriend."  
  
"And what, steaks don't make you fat?" Ev retorted, snorting.  
  
"Shut up," responded Sirius, hitting her lightly. Ev grabbed his hand.  
  
"Don't hit me," she warned, smirking and thoroughly enjoying herself.  
  
"Make me," he whispered back.  
  
"That sounds like a dare."  
  
"It is," he grinned. "How are you going to make me not hit you."  
  
"I got it!" she exclaimed.  
  
"You don't have it," he told her slowly.  
  
Grinning, Ev said, "I won't kiss you."  
  
With a triumphant 'hmph' she began mopping again.  
  
"I can just make you kiss me," Sirius advised her.  
  
"Oh no you can't." Ev flexed her muscles at him.  
  
"Oh please!" Sirius laughed uncontrollably. "I got at least thirty pounds on you."  
  
"Oh really, well do it then. Make me kiss you," Ev taunted.  
  
Nodding, Sirius advanced on her. Ev began to run away, all the way across the empty room.  
  
When he had practically caught up to her and was only a foot behind her, Sirius gave a great lunge and managed to tackle Ev to the floor. Turning her around while he was still on top of her, he held her arms down to the floor beside her and straddled her. Leaning down he tried to press his pips to hers. However, Ev kept turning her head back and forth so that he couldn't kiss her. Sirius gave an angry screech and let go of one hand to grab her head and steady it. As he leaned down to kiss her, Ev pounded on him with her free hand. Sirius knew she wasn't putting all her strength into it because it didn't hurt. He pressed his lips roughly to hers then pulled back, grinning victoriously. As he raised both of his hands in triumph, saying, "Thank you, thank you, no applause," Ev snaked her arms around his neck and pulled him down. Putting her lips near his ear, she whispered, "You win," tickling his ear. Sirius purposely collapsed on top of her, putting his hands on the floor on either side of her so as to support his weight. Ev grinned at him and pulled his arms out so that all his weight was resting on her and then pulled him in for a zealous kiss.  
  
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%  
  
"Good job," Dumbledore said proudly after assessing the room.  
  
"Thank you, sir," the two responded in unison, sneaking a sly glance at one another and blushing.  
  
"Very good, in fact," the headmaster continued, "What with all the breaks you indulged yourselves in." He grinned at them and turned to stride from the hall.  
  
############################  
  
They finally kissed. There you go!  
  
Review! 


	19. You're Crazy

You're Crazy  
  
Even more weeks passed and it became increasingly obvious to everyone that Ev and Sirius were now a couple. There was much gossip and tittering about this and quite a bit of teasing on the part of the Slytherins but they soon learned their lesson: Ev and Sirius were not a couple to mess with.  
  
Winter had finally decided that it had had enough and the sun was now shining every day. Outside of Hogwarts, everything was slushy and wet and most free time was spent indoors, biding their time until spring finally showed up with some green grass.  
  
Finally it came and almost all the snow was gone. The lake had finally melted and people could be found lounging around it on weekends. Due to the fair weather, a Hogsmeade weekend had been scheduled for the upcoming weekend, which was in two days. Sirius and Ev had determined it was time for a 'read date' and had decided to go out to lunch and have some alone time with just each other. Lily and James were also going to do the same thing, although Sirius thought they were going to spend some alone time in a more 'secluded' spot so they could do 'stuff'. Rae and Wesley also had plans. Meanwhile, Remus and Ara had recently begun to 'date' and were going to go for a walk together. It seemed love was blooming in every corner.  
  
So it was that Ev sat in Transfiguration on Thursday, waiting until the bell rang. This class included the Slytherins, which sucked, to say the least. Ev had had no contact with Lucius and wanted it to stay that way. He had said nothing to her about knowing about her past and so Ev hoped he had just let it go and forgot about it. She knew, deep down, that she was probably wrong, and figured that she could cure any case of blackmail he got into his head with a long and hard pounding from her. Apparently that was Ev's solution to everything. She just though, if it works, stick with it.  
  
However, Lucius would have none of that. As the bell rang he made sure to pass by her so he could whisper, "I'm going to tell everyone."  
  
"Fuck you," Ev snapped, putting out her foot in an attempt to trip him and succeeding. Giving a gloating grin, she stalked off away from him.  
  
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$  
  
"So, when is the next Quidditch game?" Lily asked behind a mouthful of food, in her seat beside James.  
  
"I think it's in two weeks, on the Saturday after the upcoming one," Sirius supplied from where he sat beside Ev.  
  
The others continued to chatter on about this and that and plans for Hogsmeade, not noticing that Ev was not at all involved in the conversation. Instead, her eyes were trained on the Slytherin table, and, more specifically, Lucius Malfoy and the gang that surrounded him.  
  
He had looked unsurprisingly suspicious when he had taken his seat at the beginning of dinner and looked even more so now. Throughout dinner he had talked the whole time to the people around him and every once in a while, Ev was sure he had sneaked a glance at her. Just then, she saw him turn audaciously to her and smirk quite evilly, even as he was still talking to those around him.  
  
What the hell is that little shit up to? Ev muttered to herself.  
  
"What?" Sirius questioned, turning to her.  
  
"Huh," she replied, still staring into the distance, "oh, nothing."  
  
"Okayyy," Sirius said slowly. "Anyone in there?" He waved his hand in front of her face.  
  
"Yeah," Ev shook her head and looked at him. "Um, you guys, I'm gonna go for a walk or maybe a run. I'll see you later." Ev stood up and made her way across the room, pass the Slytherins where she got many malevolent glares, and out the doors into the Great Hall where she then went outside.  
  
Pulling her cloak off because it had finally warmed up slightly outside, she made her way down to the Forbidden Forest, passing by Hagrid the groundskeeper's hut, and followed the path she had discovered to the small lake in the clearing.  
  
Once there she paced, wondering if Malfoy had by chance told everyone her secret, although by now it was a semisecret, considering she had told eight or so people.  
  
Ev finally headed to the Gryffindor tower just before curfew set in. When she entered, all of her friends sat waiting, slightly worried about her even if she could take care of herself. They were all involved in a game of Exploding Snaps, actually, so Ev didn't think they were too worried.  
  
"Oh, hey Ev," Ara said distractedly as she played. "Where have you been?"  
  
"Yeah?" Sirius put in.  
  
"Oh, nowhere, I was just walking and thinking," Ev replied sullenly.  
  
Suddenly a light bulb went off in Ev's head and she slapped her forehead, angry at her stupidity.  
  
"Remus," she spoke, "could I . . .talk to you in private, for just a minute?"  
  
"Sure," Remus replied slowly, sounding perplexed. Ev nodded to him and led him outside of common room and up to the girls' dormitories.  
  
"Hey! Don't try anything fresh my man," Sirius called after them. Everyone laughed at this.  
  
In the dormitory, however, Ev had shut the door and turned to Remus.  
  
"Does the whole school know about you?" she asked urgently.  
  
"What? What about me? Huh?"  
  
Rolling her eyes, Ev said, "Does everyone in the school know about where you go every month?" as slowly as she could so he'd understand.  
  
"Just you and everyone out there," was his reply as he jerked his head to the door. "Why?"  
  
"I was just wondering . . . Would you hate it if everyone knew?" Ev questioned quietly.  
  
"I don't know. I like to think I wouldn't, that I wouldn't care what they think," Remus paused. "Why? Is someone going too?" He sounded so concerned that Ev laughed. His face cleared of apprehension and he laughed lightly. "Guess I answered your question. Why are you asking though?"  
  
Ev blew out air gustily. "Ohh, it's nothing . . .It's just, I think Malfoy . . .is going to tell. He was listening the night Sirius told you and, well, he basically told me as much . . . that he was going to spread it around."  
  
"What?" Remus yelled when she finished. He began to pace angrily, running his hands through his hair as he took deep breaths to calm himself. "Well, I just," he spluttered. "Aren't you going to beat him up?"  
  
"What would that do?"  
  
"Well, that's what you do. You can't just get a conscience now! Just do it. Beat him to a bloody pulp! I can't believe he would do that! I am giving you permission. Actually I am practically ordering you to punch . . ."Remus stopped his rant mid-sentence. "You're right. It would accomplish nothing. Not for you at least! I'm gonna do it!" He turned to the door, almost as if he intended to hunt down Malfoy and thump him.  
  
"Wait! What would that accomplish?" Ev called after him.  
  
Remus turned back to her. "What would it accomplish?" he repeated. "It would accomplish me getting this pent up rage out of my system. I can't believe he would do that Ev! I thought he was low, but I never thought he'd do something like this." Remus became quiet as he reached the end of his speech. He chewed on his thumbnail and turned to the door . . . then turned back. "Are you not going to stop me?" he asked cautiously.  
  
Ev considered this for a moment. "Actually, I think 'no.' I kinda wanna see this." She shrugged at him and followed him out the door.  
  
Passing by the others from where they were seated before the fire without even speaking to them, Remus and Ev exited the common room.  
  
"So where are we going?" Ev asked, as she huffed and puffed behind him, he was walking so damn fast.  
  
"To the prefects bathroom," was his short reply. He then added, "I know he always take this time up because I've tried to get in before and he's been in there. We have to reach him before he gets undressed. I'd hate to see more than I have to of the prick, you know?"  
  
"Oh, guess you're serious about this," Ev mused to herself, nodding to his previous comment.  
  
Upon reaching the oak door that apparently led into the rather large bathroom, Remus muttered a password, in this case it was 'squeaky-clean', he burst through the door, albeit with a hand over his eyes lest Malfoy be in any state of undress. Squinting through his fingers and seeing that he was still wearing pants, no shirt mind you, he strode toward him, just short of running.  
  
"What the hell is this I hear?" he asked rhetorically, pushing Malfoy against the wall.  
  
"What?" Malfoy spluttered back, seeming nervous.  
  
"About you telling people about Ev!" Remus yelled back, slamming him again against the wall. Did I mention it was stone?  
  
As Remus attended to business, Ev stared curiously around the room. "Dayuuummmm," she voiced. She strolled forward, staring enraptured at the HUGE bath that was contained in the floor. It was as large as a pool. The bath was currently filled with clear blue water, so clear you could see to the bottom of the ten-foot deep bath. Ev then turned her eyes interestedly to the small tabs that surrounded the whole pool. Little colored jewels were inset into each button; at least, that's what Ev thought they were. For case of an experiment, she pushed down a greenish-blue button with a foot. The button opened up and poured out a jet of green frothy bubbles. Miraculously, however, the bubbles were in the shape of rather small but intricate dragons. The dragons roamed freely around the room, fighting and attaching themselves to anything they found attractive. Intrigued, not only by the bubbles but also by the sound of a loud thump as Remus hit Lucius squarely in the face, Ev pushed another button. This one was yellow and emitted little flower shaped soap that sprung up all over the surface of the water. She continued to push other buttons for a moment until she heard a gasp and felt Remus' hand on her arm.  
  
"Ready to go," Remus asked tranquilly. Ev nodded in response. She turned to the door, and walked through it, leaving behind a moaning Lucius Malfoy and a very pretty bath if Ev did say so herself.  
  
They walked in a comfortable silence until they reached the painting of the Fat Lady that opened into the Gryffindor common room. Once there, Ev grabbed Remus' arm and stopped him.  
  
"Umm," she mumbled, "I know that you never really do anything wrong, and I'm sure that was terribly hard for you to do, even if you did enjoy it deep down," she added grinning, "but, thanks. I appreciate."  
  
Remus nodded at her. "No problem. I did enjoy it a bit." He admitted reluctantly.  
  
"I knew," Ev laughed, "and besides, it does get tiring for me having to punch people all the time. So it's nice for you to lighten the load even once."  
  
Shrugging, Remus said, "You know, I might even be willing to do it a second time." Ev laughed, stretching her arms out to give him a tight hug around the shoulders. After a moment of hesitation, Remus put his hands on Ev's back and hugged her in response.  
  
That's when the portrait hole opened and they both heard the voice of Sirius and he said conversationally, "So, I thought I told you not to try anything fresh."  
  
Laughing as they pulled back from each other, Ev told him, "He didn't . . .I did." Beaming at his phony look of shock, she pulled him to her by the front of his robes and pressed her lips against his. Sirius immediately responded, opening his mouth to her tongue and groaning slightly.  
  
"Aww, no one wants to see that," Remus complained, shoving Sirius out of the way, even as they continued to kiss, and entering the portrait. He closed it behind him with a flourish and dusted his hands off gallantly.  
  
&^&^&^&  
  
The next morning at breakfast it became increasingly obvious that Malfoy had told the Slytherins at least. They all threw her evil glares and muttered names to her. Names such as 'bitch' and 'whore.'  
  
At first Ev just shrugged it off and tried to ignore them, but by dinnertime, her friends knew it was getting to her. Every time someone said something to her, she clenched her jaw and fists and her eyes would flash dangerously, but still she did nothing in return.  
  
"Hey, if it isn't the whore of the school." Malfoy grinned as he passed them. "How much is the going rate for a little loving, huh?" He laughed as if what he said was extremely clever or hilarious.  
  
Ev watched as Sirius closed his eyes then stood up. Grabbing Malfoy by the shoulder, he whipped him around and punched him straight into the gut. With a loud 'Oof', Malfoy slid to the floor.  
  
Ev laughed outright, finally reaching the breaking point of the day. "Thank the Lord!" she cried. "Though, I'm starting to feel sorry for him, he's getting beaten up at every turn of a corner. Ah well! Hit him again!" Sirius happily obliged, grabbing Malfoy by the collar of his cloak and pulling him up to hit him in the face. After he let him go, Malfoy clutched his eye, moaning. He was obviously going to have a shiner in the morning.  
  
"Students," a sharp cry rang across the hall, and the movement in Ev's section of the table stopped, although Ev was still shaking with peals of laughter. "What is the meaning of this spectacle?" McGonagall strode toward them, Dumbledore following behind her.  
  
Ev raised her hand. "Can I please answer?" she questioned. McGonagall looked angry and then nodded her head. "I was just about to beat the crap out of Malfoy. Sirius was just helping."  
  
"Miss Rhyiahnnon, have we not had this discussion before? You shouldn't hit students. You either, Mr. Black." McGonagall looked ashamedly at her house students. "Detention, both of you." She then turned to Dumbledore. "Albus, I hope that you intend to talk to these two students, especially Everard, about their constant fighting with other students."  
  
"Of course, Minerva," he responded, smiling slightly. He turned, , calling over his shoulder, "Follow me, Everard and Mr. Black."  
  
Raising her eyebrows at McGonagall, Ev followed and heard Sirius follow behind her. Once they had reached his office, Dumbledore sat and Ev plopped into a chair before him. Sirius followed suit, looking slightly nervous.  
  
Seeing this, Ev leaned forward. "Sir, it wasn't him. It was me and I started it all. He doesn't need to be here. And, besides, I need to talk to you alone." She hoped to God that this would get Sirius off the hook.  
  
"What?" Sirius exclaimed, "No. I started it. I should get punished too." He looked at Ev pointedly, trying to tell her with his eyes to stop it.  
  
"Not true at all." Ev said, not looking at him. "If you let him leave, Double D, I'll tell you what happened."  
  
Dumbledore had watched and listened in slight amusement. Now, he merely nodded. "Very well. You are excused, Mr. Black."  
  
"But professor-" Sirius started.  
  
Dumbledore raised a hand. "You are excused."  
  
Sirius turned to glare at Ev and then stalked out.  
  
"You must have had something important to tell me, Everard," Dumbledore continued. "If you were willing to lie about Mr. Black's involvement in the fight of earlier." He smiled gently at her, watching as she wrung her hands.  
  
"Sir," Ev leaned forward earnestly, saying, "I don't know what's going on. Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy, he knows about me and he's telling people. And sir, I am seriously trying to hold myself back from killing him in a very malicious way." She felt an eye twitch slightly.  
  
Clasping his hands together, Dumbledore told her, "Ev, I have been considering this for a while now, and I believe you do need help. I'm going to hire a psychiatrist to come and talk to you about everything. Is that okay?" He looked at her over his half moon spectacles.  
  
Ev stood up quickly, opening her mouth soundlessly. "What?" she finally cried. "No, it's not okay! What is wrong with you? I don't need a psychiatrist! I'm not that messed up! I was only kidding about killing Malfoy, sort of!" She started to pace angrily about the room, running her fingers through her wild strands of hair.  
  
Dumbledore put up a hand to stop her tirade. "Everard," he reprimanded quietly. After she had quieted, he continued, "It's not just that, you understand. I think you have to really talk about what happened to you before you can move on. Now, Dr. Bobby comes highly recommended and has a very large list of credentials. He will do very good by you, I'm sure."  
  
"But, sir," Ev whined.  
  
"No," Dumbledore interrupted, "you are going to do this. The first meeting between you will take place tomorrow afternoon, Saturday, at three o'clock. I expect you to be here at that time. Your sessions will be taking place in that room." He pointed to a door behind him and to his left. "You may leave."  
  
Ev glared at him momentarily before storming out and slamming the door noisily behind her.  
  
Dumbledore gave a sigh. "I don't remember being like that when I was a kid," he told one of the portraits on the wall, who merely nodded along grimly.  
  
(((((((((((((((((((((  
  
Review! Please!  
  
I must also recommend a good fan fiction. Showers and Spice and All Things Nice and also Stolen Kisses. If you do in fact read them, do not forget to read mine. Hee hee! 


	20. Interuption and a Teaser! You're gonna l...

I know it has taken a while for the next chapter and I am sorry.  
  
I am still writing it and trying to perfect it. It will be up soon.  
  
Meanwhile, I have a wedding to attend and am busy studying for a test on Anne Frank. I have a million notes to go through, I swear. So, please, people, be patient and I will give you a really long chapter. While you're waiting, why don't you read my other fanfics and review them many times! Thanx! 


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